THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

From  the  collection  of 

Julius  Doerner,  Chicago 

Purchased,  1918. 

2.4-4- 


THE 


POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 


COMPILED 

FOE  THE  NEW  WOELD. 

[FROM  THE  FRENCH.] 


J.  L.  JACQBSQIT. 


CHICAGO 
HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY  ' 


CHICAGO : 

THE  CHICAGO  LEGAL  NEWS  CO. 
1879. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1879,  by 

THE  CHICAGO  LEGAL  NEWS  COMPANY, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


STEREOTYPED,  PBINTED,  BOUND  AND  PUBLISHED,  BY 
THE  CHICAGO  LEGAL  NEWS  COMPANY. 


J/Sp 


I- 

rs 


. 


PREFACE 


TO    THE    PEOPLE. 

THIS  book  has  been  principally  written  for  you ; 
it  is  to  you  that  I  offer  it.  May  it,  in  the  midst  of 
so  many  ills  which  fall  to  your  lot,  so  many  afflic- 
tions which  weigh  upon  you,  with  little  or  no  in- 
termission, revive  you  and  give  you  a  little  conso- 
lation! 

To  you  who  bear  the  burden  of  the  day,  may  it 
be  to  your  poor  wearied  spirit  as  is,  in  the  corner  of 
a  field,  at  mid-day,  the  shade  of  a  tree,  howsoever 
insignificant,  to  him  who  has  labored  the  whole 
morning  under  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun. 

You  live  in  evil  times,  but  those  times  will  pass 
away. 

•After  the  rigors  of  winter,  Providence  brings 
back  a  season  less  harsh,  and  the  little  bird  praises 
in  its  song  the  beneficent  hand  which  has  restored 
to  it  warmth  and  plenty,  and  its  mate  and  its  soft 
nest. 

(3) 

680204 


4:  PREFACE. 

Hope  and  love.  Hope  sweetens  all  things,  and 
love  makes  all  things  easy. 

There  are  at  this  moment  men  who  suffer  much, 
because  they  have  loved  you  much.  I,  their  broth- 
er, I  have  written  down  the  account  of  what  they 
have  done  for  you,  and  what  has  been  done  to  them 
because  of  that;  and  when  violence  shall  have  ex- 
pended its  strength,  I  will  publish  it,  and  you  will 
read  it  then  with  tears  less  bitter,  and  you  will  also 
love  those  men,  who  have  loved  you  so  well. 

Now,  if  I  should  speak  to  you  of  their  love  and 
of  their  sufferings,  I  would  be  cast  with  them  into 
the  dungeon. 

I  would  descend  there  with  joy,  if  my  going 
would  lessen  a  little  your  wretchedness;  but  you 
would  not  thereby  obtain  any  relief,  and  for  that 
reason  you  must  wait  and  pray  God  to  shorten  the 
trial. 

Now  it  is  man  who  judges  and  who  punishes: 
soon  it  will  be  He  who  will  judge.  Happy  those 
who  shall  see  His  justice! 

I  am  old:  listen  to  the  words  of  an  aged  man. 

The  earth  is  dismal  and  dry,  but  she  will  become 
green  again.  The  breath  of  the  wicked  will  not 
eternally  pass  over  her  as  a  scorching  wind. 


PREFACE.  5 

What  has  been,  Providence  willed  should  be  done 
for  your  instruction,  that  you  may  learn  to  be  good 
and  just,  when  your  hour  shall  come. 

When  those  who  abuse  their  power  shall  have 
passed  from  before  you  as  the  mire  from  the  gutter 
in  a  day  of  storm,  then  you  will  understand  that 
the  good  alone  is  lasting,  and  you  will  fear  to  pol- 
lute the  air,  which  the  wind  from  heaven  shall  have 
made  pure. 

Prepare  your  souls  for  that  time,  for  it  is  not  far 
distant — it  approaches. 

Christ,  nailed  to  the  cross  for  you,  has  promised 
to  deliver  you. 

Believe  in  His  promise,  and,  to  hasten  its  fulfil- 
ment, reform  wherein  you  need  reform  ing,  practice 
all  virtues,  and  love  one  another  as  the  Savior  of 
the  human  race  has  loved  you,  EYEN  UNTO 
DEATH. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEB.  PAGE. 

AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 3 

I.    THE  LIGHT  APPEARS 11 

II.    THE  SLAVES  OF  OLD  AND  THE  FREEMEN  OF 

TO-DAY   .       .       .       •  .       .       .12 

III.  THE  RULERS  OF  THIS  WORLD     .        .       .  17 

IV.  AND   THEY  WERE   SAD         .  .  .  .  .19 

V.    ONE  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN  AND  ON  EARTH    .  22 

VI.    JUDGE  NOT 24 

VII.    THE  TRAVELER  AND  THE  ROCK          .        .  25 
VIII.    LABOR  ENFRANCHISED  is  MASTER  OF  THE 

WORLD 28 

IX.    JUSTICE  AND  FRATERNITY  ....  30 

X,    THE  TRAMP  IN  JAIL 32 

XI.    UNION  is  STRENGTH 35 

XII.    THE  SACRED  WAR 38 

XIII.  A  SERMON  ON  LOVE 41 

XIV.  THE  PROLETARIAN 43 

XV.    THE  UNBELIEVER 48 

(7) 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

XVI.  THE  TWO  NEIGHBORS        ....       50 

XVII.    PRAYER 53 

XVIII.  THE  REWARD  OF  JUSTICE  AND  FRATERNITY  55 

XIX.  MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTER       ...         58 

XX.  SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE 

(Parti.) 61 

XX.  SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE 

(Part  II.) 68 

XX.  SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE 

(Part  III.) .72 

XXI.  THE  CITY  OF  SATAN  AND  THE  CITY  OF  GOD  .  78 

XXII.  THE  SEVEN  KINGS  (Part  I.)      .       .       .       81 

XXII.  THE  SEVEN  KINGS  (Part  II.)       ...    87 

XXIII.  ALL  ARE  BORN  EQUAL         ....          90 

XXIV.  DUMB  ANIMALS  AND  INTELLIGENT  ANIMALS  92 
XXV.    LIBERTY 95 

XXVI.  THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  PROLETARIANS     .       97 

XXVII.  CHRIST  AND  THE  PEOPLE    .       .       .       .100 

XXVIII.  INTOLERANCE  OF  RELIGION      .        .       .      103 

XXIX.    THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST 106 

XXX.    FATHER  AND  SON 108 

XXXI.    THE  FRUIT  OF  SIN 110 

XXXIT.  A  LESSON  FROM  THE  SWALLOWS     .        .      112 

XXXIII.  MAN,  HIS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE    .  113 

XXXIV.  THE  REIGN  OF  SATAN      .       .        .       .118 
XXXV.  THE  WAR  BETWEEN  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  120 

XXXVI.  THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  CHRIST        .       .  123 

XXXVII.  THE  MIGHTY  OF  EARTH    ...       .        .126 

XXXVIII.  THE  PERSECUTION  OF  TRUTH                     .  127 


CONTENTS. 


9 


CHAPTEB.  PAGE. 

XXXIX.  THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  PEOPLE-  AND  WHAT 

HAS  BECOME  OF  THEM      .  .  .  .         128 

XL.  THE  LEGACY  TO  OUR  CHILDREN         .       .  132 

XLI.  LIBERTY  AND  JUSTICE      ....      134 

XLII.  THE  SLAVE  AND  THE  FREEMAN         .        .  136 

XLIII.  THE  TWO  IDOLS         .....      138 

XLIV.  NOTHING  WITHOUT  GOD       .        .        .        .  141 

XLV.  OBSERVATION  OF  DUTY — THE  FULFILMENT 

OF  THE  LAW 143 

XLVI.    THE  PROPHET 150 

XLVII.  THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  EVIL       .        .        .      155 

XLYIIT.  THE  AGED  MAN  AND  THE  PILGRIM    .       .161 

XLIX.    THE  MILLENNIUM 171 

L.    LIFE  AND  DEATH 173 

LI.  THE  TRUE  END  OF  LIFE  ....      175 

LII.  WE  WALK  IN  DARKNESS      ....  177 

LIII.    THE  CHURCH-YARD 178 

LIV.    THE  EXILE .180 

LV.    THE  TRINITY 182 

THE  DEAD  .  186 


THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL 


I. 

THE   LIGHT   APPEARS. 

IN  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good  will  toward  men. 

He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear  ;  he  that 
hath  eyes,  let  him  open  them  and  see,  for  the  time 
approacheth. 

The  Father  engendered  His  Son,  His  Promise, 
His  "Word,  and  the  "Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us  ;  and  He  was  in  the  world,  and  the 
world  knew  Him  not. 

The  Son  hath  promised  to  send  His  Spirit  of 
Comfort,  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  proceedeth  forth 
from  the  Father  and  from  Him,  and  which  is  their 
mutual  love  ;  He  shall  come  and  renew  the  face  of 
the  earth,  and  it  will  be  like  a  second  creation. 


12 

Eighteen  centuries  ago,  the  Word  strewed  the 
seed  Divine,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  fecundated  it. 
Mankind  have  seen  it  in  blossom,  they  have  tasted 
of  its  fruit,  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life,  trans- 
planted to  their  wretched  dwellings. 

I  say  unto  you,  there  was  great  joy  among  them 
when  they  saw  the  Light  spring  up,  and  when  they 
felt  themselves  entirely  penetrated  with  a  celestial 
fire. 

At  present,  the  earth  has  become  dark  and  cold 
again. 

Our  fathers  have  seen  the  sun  decline.  "When 
it  descended  under  the  horizon,  all  humankind  were 
startled.  Then,  there  was  in  that  night,  I  know 
.not  what,  which  is  nameless.  Children  of  the 
night  !  the  Occident  is  dark,  but  in  the  Orient  the 
light  appears. 

II. 

THE  SLAVES  OF  OLD  AND  THE  FREEMEN  OF  TO-DAY. 

IN  the  beginning,  it  was  not  necessary  for  man  to 
work  in  order  to  live  :  the  earth  spontaneously  sup- 
plied all  his  wants. 

But  man  did  what  was  evil ;  and  as  he  had  re- 
volted against  God,  the  earth  revolted  against  him. 


SLAVES    OF   OLD   AND   FREEMEN   OF    TO-DAY.       13 

That  befell  him,  which  befalls  the  son  who  re- 
volts against  his  father :  the  father  withdraws  his 
love  from  him  and  abandons  him  to  his  fate  ;  and 
the  servants  of  the  house  refuse  to  attend  upon  him, 
and  he  goes  away,  looking  here  and  there  for  his 
miserable  livelihood,  eating  the  bread  which  he  has 
earned  in  the  sweat  of  his  face. 

Ever  since,  then,  God  has  condemned  all  men  to 
work,  and  all  have  their  labor,  either  of  the  body  or 
of  the  mind  ;  and  those  who  say  :  I  will  not 
work  !  are  the  most  wretched  : 

For,  even  as  the  worms  devour  a  carcass,  so  the 
vices  devour  them,  and  if  it  is  not  vice,  it  is  ennui. 

And  when  the  will  of  God  was  that  man  should 
work,  He  hid  a  treasure  in  labor,  because  He  is  a 
Father,  and  because  the  love  of  a  Father  never 
dies. 

And  for  him  who  makes  a  good  use  of  that  treas- 
ure and  does  not  squander  it  like  a  foolv  there 
comes  a  time  of  rest,  and  then  he  is  like  man  was 
in  the  beginning. 

And  God  gave  man  this  precept  also  :  Help 
one  another  ;  for  there  are  among  you  the  strong 
and  the  weak,  the  infirm  and  the  well ;  and  yet  all 
must  live. 


And  if  you  act  in  this  manner,  all  shall  live,  be- 
cause I  shall  reward  •  your  compassion  for  your 
brother,  and  I  shall  render  your  sweat  fertile. 

And  that  which  God  has  promised,  always  comes 
to  pass,  and  never  has  he  been  seen  in  want  of 
bread  who  helps  his  brother. 

Now,  in  former  times,  there  lived  a  wicked  man, 
accursed  of  Heaven.  And  that  man  was  strong, 
and  hated  work ;  so  that  he  said  to  himself:  "What 
shall  I  do?  If  I  do  not  work,  I  shall  die,  and  work 
is  intolerable  to  me. 

Then  a  thought  from  Hell  entered  his  head: 
During  the  night,  he  went  and  seized  some  of  his 
brothers,  whilst  they  were  sleeping,  and  loaded 
them  with  chains. 

For,  he  said  to  himself,  I  will  compel  them 
with  rods  and  with  lashes  to  work  in  my  place, 
and  I  shall  eat  the  fruit  of  their  labor. 

And  he  did  what  his  brain  had  conceived,  and 
others  on  seeing  that  did  the  same,  and  there  were 
brothers  no  more:  there  were  masters  and  slaves. 

That  day  was  a  day  of  mourning  over  all  the  earth. 

A  long  time  afterwards  there  lived  another  man, 
more  wicked  than  the  first,  and  more  accursed  of 
Heaven. 


SLAVES   OF   OLD   AND   FKEEMEN    OF   TO-DAY.       15 

Seeing  that  men  had  everywhere  multiplied,  and 
that  their  multitude  was  numberless,  he  said  to 
himself: 

I  might  perhaps  succeed  in  binding  some  of 
them  in  chains,  and  in '  forcing  them  to  work  for 
me;  but  I  should  have  to  feed  them,  and  that  would 
diminish  my  gain.  Let  me  do  better:  let  them 
work  for  nothing!  They  shall  die,  it  is  true,  but 
as  their  number  is  very  great,  I  shall  amass  wealth 
before  they  shall  have  diminished  much,  and  enough 
of  them  will  always  remain. 

Now,  all  that  multitude  lived  by  what  they 
received  in  exchange  for  their  work. 

Having  spoken  then  in  this  manner,  he  addressed 
himself  privately  to  a  few  of  them,  and  said :  You 
work  during  six  hours,  and  are  paid  one  piece  of 
money  for  your  labor:  work  during  twelve  hours, 
arid  you  will  earn  two  pieces  of  money,  and  live  a 
great  deal  more  comfortably,  you,  your  wives  and 
your  children. 

And  they  believed  him. 

After  that,  he  said  to  them:  You  only  work 
during  half  of  the  days  of  the  year:  work  all  the 
days  of  the.  year,  and  your  earnings  will  be 
double. 


16  THE   POOR   MAN'S   GOSPEL. 

And  they  believed  him  again. 

"Now  it  resulted  therefrom  that  the  quantity  of 
labor  having  become  one  half  greater,  without  the 
demand  for  labor  increasing,  the  half  of  those  who 
formerly  lived  by  their  labor,  could  find  nowhere  a 
person  to  employ  them. 

Then  the  wicked  man,  in  whom  they  had  believed, 
said  to  them:  I  will  give  work  to  all  of  you,  upon 
condition  that  you  shall  not  diminish  your  hours 
of  labor,  and  that  I  shall  pay  you  only  the  half  of 
what  you  now  receive:  for  I  am  willing  to  do  you 
a  service,  but  I  cannot  ruin  myself  for  you. 

And  as  they  were  starving,  they,  their  wives  and 
their  children,  they  accepted  the  proposal  of  the 
wicked  man,  and  they  blessed  him :  for,  said  they, 
he  gives  us  life  anew. 

And  continuing  to  impose  upon  them  in  the 
same  manner,  the  wicked  man  augmented  their 
work  ever  more  and  more,  and  diminished  their 
wages  in  the  same  proportion. 

And  they  died  from  want,  and  others  were  eager 
to  replace  them:  for  indigence  had  become  so  gen- 
eral in  that  country,  that  whole  families  sold  them- 
selves for  a  piece  of  bread. 

And  the  wicked  man,  who  had  told  lies  to  his 


THE   RULERS    OF   THIS   WORLD.  17 

brothers,  amassed  more  wealth  than  the  wicked 
man,  who  had  bound  them  in  chains. 

The  name  of  the  latter  is  Tyrant;  as  for  the  other, 
he  is  unnamed  out  of  Hell. 

III. 

THE  RULERS  OF  THIS  WORLD. 

WHY  do  the  animals  find  their  nourishment,  each 
according  to  his  kind  ?  It  is  because  no  one  among 
them  takes  away  that  of  the  others,  and  because 
each  contents  himself  with  that  which  supplies  his 
needs. 

If  in  a  hive,  one  bee  should  say  :  All  the  honey 
which  is  here,  is  mine,  and  thereupon  should  dis- 
pose of  the  fruits  of  the  common  labor  as  it  pleased, 
what  would  become  of  the  other  bees  ? 

The  earth  is  like  a  great  hive,  and  men  are  the 
bees. 

Each  bee  has  a  right  to  the  portion  of  honey, 
necessary  to  its  subsistence,  and  if,  among  men, 
there  be  any  who  are  in  want  of  that  portion,  it  is 
because  justice  and  fraternity  have  disappeared 
from  among  them. 

Justice — that  .is  life  ;  and  fraternity — that  is  life 
also,  and  a  more  sweet  and  fruitful  life. 


18 

There  have  arisen  false  prophets,  who  have  per- 
suaded some  men  that  all  others  were  born  for  them ; 
and  what  these  have  believed,  others  have  believed 
also  on  the  word  of  the  false  prophets. 

When  this  false  teaching  prevailed,  the  angels  in 
heaven  wept,  for  they  foresaw  that  much  violence, 
and  many  crimes,  and  many  evils  would  spread 
abroad  over  the  earth. 

Men,  equal  among  themselves,  are  born  for  God 
alone,  and  whoever  says  the  contrary,  utters  a  blas- 
phemy. 

Whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  shall  be 
your  minister ;  and  whosoever  of  you  will  be  the 
chiefest,  shall  be  servant  of  all. 

The  law  of  God  is  a  law  of  love,  and  love  does 
not  exalt  itself  over  others,  but  it  sacrifices  itself  to 
others. 

He  who  says  within  his  heart  :  I  am  not  as 
other  men,  but  all  others  have  been  given  to  me, 
that  L  may  command  them,  and  dispose  of  them 
and  what  is  theirs  according  to  my  fancy  :  that 
man  is  the  child  of  Satan. 

And  Satan  is  the  king  of  this  world,  for  he  is  the 
king  of  all  those  who  think  and  act  after  this  man- 
ner ;  and  those  who  think  and  act  thus,  have  made 


AND   THEY   WERE    SAD.  19 

themselves,  by  his  counsels,  masters  of  the  world. 

But  their  empire  will  be  only  for  a  time,  and  we 
approach  the  end  of  that  time. 

A  great  battle  will  be  fought,  and  the  angel  of 
justice  and  the  angel  of  love  will  fight  with  those 
who  have  taken  arms  to  re-establish  among  men 
the  reign  of  justice  and  the  reign  of  love. 

And  many  will  perish  in  that  combat,  and  their 
names  will  remain  on  earth  as  rays  from  God's  glory. 

Therefore,  ye  who  suffer,  take  courage,  strengthen 
your  hearts  :  for  to-morrow  will  be  the  day  of  trial, 
the  ^day  when  each  must  surrender,  with  joy,  his 
life  for  his  brothers  ;  and  the  day  that  will  follow, 
will  be  the  day  of  deliverance. 

IT. 

AND   THEY   WERE    SAD. 

THE  sun  had  risen  in  his  splendor;  his  light 
streamed  over  the  declivities  of  the  mountains, 
pierced  through  the  dark  shadows  of  the  forest, 
and  sparkled  in  the  dew,  covering  the  light  gossa- 
mers, which  like  an  impalpable,  movable  net- work 
were  spread  over  the  meadows  and  fields;  fresh 
odors — like  unto  the  breath  of  the  genii  of  the 
earth — perfumed  the  calm  air;  mysterious  voices, 


20 

heard  from  afar,  murmured  unknown  sounds, 
scarcely  perceptible  to  the  ear:  the  last  echo  of  the 
dreams  of  night. 

Great  art  Thou,  oh  God!  Thou  art  great  in  Thy 
works. 

And  I  saw  come  forth  from  the  huts,  scattered 
here  and  there  over  the  hills  and  in  the  valleys,  old 
men  and  young  men,  all  of  them  pale,  emaciated, 
and  bent  under  the  burden  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments. They  walked  slowly,  as  if,  in  addition,  they 
were  bearing  along  with  them  I  know  not  what 
internal  load.  JSTow  and  then,  halting,  their  eyes 
dwelt  in  thought  upon  all  these  divine  splendors. 

And  they  were  sad. 

The  trees,  full  of  sap,  said  to  them:  Behold  these 
blossoms;  they  will  soon  turn  into  fruit,  which  will 
ripen  for  you. 

And  they  were  sad. 

The  vine  spoke  to  them :  In  my  branches  I  pre- 
pare in  secret  a  juice,  which  will  infuse  new  life  into 
you,  and  warm  your  frozen  limbs,  when  winter  shall 
have  come. 

And  they  were  sad. 

The  meadows  spoke :  We  have  prepared  a  ban- 
quet for  your  sheep,  your  oxen  and  your  cows; 


AND   THEY  WERE   SAD.  21 

bring  them  here,  and  in  a  hundred  various  ways, 
they  will  repay  to  you,  what  we  shall  give  them. 

And  they  were  sad. 

And  the  fields  also  spoke  to  them:  Are  your 
barns  ready?  All  the  day  and  the  night,  we  are 
working  in  order  to  till  them.  Therefore,  take  ye 
no  thought  neither  for  yourselves,  nor  for  your 
wives,  nor  for  your  little  children.  God  has  bidden 
us  to  provide  abundantly  for  their  wants. 

And  they  were  sad. 

All  Nature  cried  aloud  to  them: 

I  am  your  Mother;  come  here,  my  children! 
all  of  ye,  come  and  drink  plentifully  at  my  inex- 
haustible breast! 

And  they  were  sad,  and  their  chests  heaved,  and 
great  tears  trickled  from  their  eyes. 

"What  does  that  signify,  oh  God?  and  what  secret 
sorrow  lies  hidden,  then,  at  the  bottom  of  man's 
heart? 

They  are  sad,  because  those  fruits  will  not  ripen 
for  them;  because  the  juice  of  the  vine  shall  not 
warm  them  in  winter;  because  they  shall  have  no 
share,  neither  in  the  wool  of  their  sheep,  nor  in  the 
milk  of  their  cows,  nor  in  the  flesh  of  their  oxen ; 
because  others  shall  cut  the  grain  from  their  fields, 


22 

and  reap  where  they  have  sown  in  fatigue  and  in 
the  sweat  of  their  face;  because  they  already  hear 
their  little  children  cry  with  hunger;  and  because 
they  see  the  hearts  of  those  who  gave  them  life 
breaking;  because  a  violent  race,  devoid  of  pity  and 
love,  has  placed  itself  between  them  and  the  com- 
mon Mother;  and  because  that  race  will  not  tole- 
rate their  lips  at  her  inexhaustible  breast! 

And  Thy  justice,  oh  God? 

My  day  of  justice  will  come,  doubt  it  not;  and 
that  day  will  be  a  holy  day  in  Heaven,  and  a  day 
of  great  joy  on  earth! 

Y. 

ONE  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN  AND  ON  EAETH. 

You  are  all  children  of  the  same  father,  and 'the 
same  mother  has  nursed  you;  why  then  do  you  not 
love  one  another  as  brothers  ?  and  why  do  you  treat 
one  another  rather  as  enemies? 

He  who  loves  not  his  brother,  is  seven  times 
accursed,  and  he  who  makes  himself  the  enemy  of 
his  brother,  is  accursed  seventy  times  seven. 

This  is  why  kings  and  princes,  and  all  those 
whom  the  world  calls  great,  have  been  accursed: 


ONE  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN  AND  ON  EARTH.    23 

they  have  not  loved  their  brothers,  and  they  have 
treated  them  as  enemies. 

Love  one  another,  and  you  will  fear  neither  the 
great,  nor  princes,  nor  kings. 

They  are  strong  against  you,  only  because  you 
are  not  united,  only  because  you  do  not  love  one 
another  as  brothers. 

Say  not:  He  is  of  one  nation,  and  I  am  of 
another  nation.  For  all  nations  on  earth  had  the 
same  father,  who  is  Adam,  and  they  have  the  same 
Father  in  Heaven,  who  is  God. 

If  one  member  is  injured,  the  whole  body  suffers. 
You  are  all  of  the  same  body:  one  of  you  cannot  be 
oppressed,  without  all  being  oppressed. 

If  a  wolf  springs  upon  a  nock,  he  does  not  devour 
the  whole  flock  immediately:  he  seizes  one  sheep 
and  eats  it.  Then,  his  hunger  having  returned,  he 
seizes  another  and  eats  it,  and  so  continues  until  the 
last,  for  his  hunger  always  comes  back. 

Be  not  as  the  sheep,  who  when  the  wolf  has  car- 
ried away  one  of  them,  are  frightened  for  a  moment, 
and  then  begin  to  graze  again.  For,  think  they, 
perhaps  he  will  content  himself  with  a  first  or 
a  second  victim :  and  wherefore  should  I  be  uneasy 
about  those  whom  he  devours?  What  does  that 


matter  to  me?  it  will  only  leave  so  much  the  more 
grass  for  me. 

Yerily,  I  say  unto  you:  Those  who  think  in  this 
way,  are  marked  to  be  the  food  of  the  beast  which 
lives  on  flesh  and  blood. 

VI. 

JUDGE   NOT 

WHEN  you  see  a  man,  led  to  prison  or  to  the 
scaffold,  do  not  cry  out  immediately :  He  is  a  wicked 
man,  who  has  committed  a  crime  against  his  fellow- 
men. 

For  it  may  be  that  he  is  a  good  man,  who  wished 
to  serve  his  fellow-men,  and  who  is  punished  there- 
for by  their  oppressors. 

When  you  see  a  whole  nation,  loaded  with  chains 
and  given  up  to  the  executioner,  do  not  cry  out 
immediately:  That  nation  is  a  violent  nation,  which 
disturbed  the  peace  of  the  earth. 

For  it  may  be  that  it  is  a  nation  of  martyrs, 
which  dies  for  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

Eighteen  centuries  ago,  in  a  city  of  the  Orient, 
the  pontiffs  and  the  kings  of  that  time,  nailed  to  a 
cross,  after  having  scourged  him,  a  rebel,  a  blas- 
phemer, as  they  called  him. 


THE  TRAVELER  AND  THE  ROCK.         25 

The  day  of  his  death,  there  was  great  terror  in 
Hell,  and  great  joy  in  Heaven. 

For  the  blood  of  the  Just  One  had  saved  the 
world. 

VII. 

THE  TRAVELER   AND   THE   ROCK. 

WHEN  a  tree  stands  alone,  it  is  shaken  by  the 
winds  and  stripped  of  its  leaves;  and  its  branches, 
instead  of  rising,  droop  as  if  they  were  seeking  the 
earth. 

When  a  plant  grows  alone,  finding  no  shelter 
against  the  burning  heat  of  the  sun,  it  fades  away, 
withers,  and  dies. 

When  man  is  alone,  the  breath  of  power  bears 
him  downward  to  the  earth,  and  the  scorching  cov- 
etousness  of  the  great  of  this  world  absorbs  the  sap 
which  should  nourish  him. 

Be  not  then  as  the  plant  and  the  tree  which  grow 
solitary:  but  be  united  the  one  with  the  other,  and 
mutually  lean  on,  and  shelter  one  another. 

As  long  as  you  shall  be  disunited,  and  every  one 
shall  think  of  himself  alone,  you  have  nothing  to 
expect  but  suffering,  and  affliction,  and  oppression. 

What  is  feebler  than  the  sparrow,  and  more  de- 


26 

fen  seless  than  the  swallow  ?  Nevertheless,  when  the 
bird  of  prey  appears,  the  swallows  and  the  sparrows 
succeed  in  driving  him  awray,  by  gathering  around, 
and  pursuing  him  in  a  body. 

Take  example  from  the  sparrow  and  the  swallow. 

He  who  separates  himself  from  his  brothers,  fear 
follows  him  wherever  he  goes,  sits  down  by  him 
when  he  takes  rest,  and  does  not  leave  him  during 
his  sleep. 

Therefore,  if  you  are  asked:  How  many  are  you? 
answer:  We  are  one,  for  our  brothers,  are  ourselves, 
and  we,  are  our  brothers. 

God  has  made  neither  small  nor  great,  neither 
masters  nor  slaves,  neither  kings  nor  subjects:  He 
has  made  all  men  equal. 

But  among  men,  some  have  more  power  either 
of  body,  of  mind,  or  of  will,  and  those  are  the  ones 
who  seek  to  subject  others,  when  pride  or  covetous- 
ness  extinguishes  in  them  the  love  for  their  brothers. 

And  God  knew  that  it  would  be  so,  and  therefore 
He  has  commanded  men  to  love  one  another,  so 
that  they  might  be  united,  and  the  weak  not  fall 
under  the  oppression  of  the  strong. 

For  he  who  is  stronger  than  one,  will  be  less 
strong  than  two;  and  he  who  is  stronger  than  two, 


THE  TEAVELEE  AND  THE  EOCK.        27 

will  be  less  strong  than  four;  and  therefore  the 
weak  will  fear  nothing,  when,  loving  one  another, 
they  shall  be  truly  united. 

A  man  traveled  in  the  mountains,  and  he  arrived 
in  a  place,  where  a  huge  rock,  having  rolled  down 
on  the  path,  filled  it  up  entirely,  and  except  the 
path,  there  was  no  other  passage,  neither  on  the  left, 
nor  on  the  right. 

Now,  that  man,  seeing  that  he  could  not  con- 
tinue his  journey,  on  account  of  the  rock,  endeav- 
ored to  remove  it,  to  make  himself  a  passage,  and 
he  wearied  himself  very  much  in  the  attempt,  and 
all  his  efforts  were  vain. 

Seeing  which,  he  sat  down,  filled  with  sadness, 
and  said:  What  will  become  of  me,  when  night 
comes  on,  and  overtakes  me  in  this  solitude,  with- 
out food,  without  shelter,  without  any  defense,  at 
the  hour  when  the  wild  beasts  come  out  to  search 
for  their  prey? 

And  while  he  was  absorbed  in  that  thought,  it 
chanced  that  another  traveler  came,  and  the  latter, 
having  attempted  to  do  what  the  first  had  attempt- 
ed, and  having  also  found  himself  unable  to  remove 
the  rock,  sat  down  in  silence  and  bowed  his  head. 

And  after  this  one,  several  others  came,  and  not 


one  was  able  to  remove  the  rock,  and  the  fear  of  all 
was  great. 

Finally  one  of  them  said  to  the  others:  Brothers, 
let  us  pray  to  our  Father  who  is  in  Heaven:  per- 
haps He  may  take  pity  on  us  in  our  distress. 

And  this  counsel  was  heeded,  and  they  prayed 
from  their  heart  to  the  Father  who  is  in  Heaven. 

And  when  they  had  prayed,  he  who  had  said: 
Let  us  pray,  spoke  again :  Brothers,  that  which  no 
one  of  us  has  been  able  to  do  alone,  who  knows,  but 
we  may  accomplish  it  together? 

And  they  rose  up,  and  all  together  they  pushed 
against  the  rock,  and  the  rock  yielded,  and  they 
proceeded  on  their  way  in  peace. 

The  traveler  is  man,  the  journey  is  life,  the  rock  is 
the  trouble  which  he  meets  at  every  step  on  his  path. 

~No  man  would  be  able  to  raise  that  rock  alone; 
but  God  has  measured  the  weight  of  it,  so  that  it 
never  blocks  the  way  of  those  who  journey  together. 

YIII. 

LABOR   ENFRANCHISED   IS    MASTER   OF   THE   WORLD. 

You  are  in  this  world  like  strangers. 

Go  North  and  South,  to  the  Orient  and  to  the 


LABOR  ENFRANCHISED,  MASTER  OF  THE  WORLD.   29 

Occident,  in  whatever  place  you  shall  come,  you 
will  find  a  man,  who  will  drive  you  away,  saying: 
That  piece  of  ground  is  mine. 

And  after  having  traveled  over  all  countries,  you 
will  return,  convinced  that  there  is  nowhere  a  poor 
little  corner  of  earth,  where  your  wife  in  travail  may 
bear  her  firstborn ;  where  you  may  take  rest  in  old 
age,  your  labor  finished;  where,  after  your  death, 
your  children  may  inter  your  bones  as  in  a  place 
of  your  own. 

That  is,  indeed,  very  sad. 

And,  yet,  you  must  not  grieve  too  much,  for  it 
is  written  of  Him,  who  saved  the  human  race: 

The  fox  has  his  hole,  and  the  bird  of  the  air  has 
its  nest;  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay 
His  head. 

Now,  he  became  poor,  in  order  to  teach  you  to 
endure  poverty. 

It  is  not  that  poverty  comes  from  God,  but  it  is 
a  consequence  of  the  corruption  and  of  the  wicked 
lusts  of  men,  and  this  is  why  there  will  always  be 
the  poor. 

Pdverty  is  the  child  of  sin,  the  germ  of  which  is 
in  each  man,  and  of  servitude,  the  germ  of  which  is 
in  every  society. 


30       . 

There  will  always  be  poor,  because  man  never 
can  destroy  the  sin  within  himself. 

There  will  always  be  fewer  poor,  because  'grad- 
ually servitude  will  disappear  from  society. 

Do  you  wish  to  labor  for  the  destruction  of  pov- 
erty, work  at  the  destruction  of  sin,  first  in  your- 
selves, then  in  others,  and  of  servitude  in  society. 

It  is  not  by  taking  away  what  belongs  to  others, 
that  you  can  destroy  poverty;  for  how,  in  creating 
the  poor,  would  one  diminish  the  number  of  the  poor? 

Every  one  has  a  right  to  preserve  what  he  has, 
except  for  that,  no  one  would  possess  anything. 

But  each  has  a  right  to  acquire  by  his  labor  what 
he  has  not,  except  for  that,  poverty  would  be  eternal. 

Enfranchise  therefore  your  labor,  enfranchise  your 
arms,  and  poverty  shall  be  among  men  only  as  an 
exception,  which  God  suffers  in  order  to  remind  them 
of  the  infirmity  of  their  nature,  and  the  mutual 
assistance  and  love  which  they  owe  the  one  to  the 
other. 

IX. 

JUSTICE    AND   FRATERNITY. 

WHEN  the  whole  earth  groaned  in  the  expecta- 
tion of  deliverance,  a  voice  arose  from  Judea,  the 


JUSTICE   AND   FKATEKNITY.  31 

voice  of  Him  who  came  to  suffer  and  to  die  for  His 
brothers,  and  whom  some  called  in  scorn  the  Son  of 
the  carpenter. 

The  Son  of  the  carpenter,  then,  poor  and  forlorn 
in  this  world,  said : 

Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor,  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest. 

And  from  that  day  to  the  present  time,  not  one 
of  those  who  have  believed  in  Him,  has  remained 
without  relief  in  his  misery. 

To  cure  the  evils  which  afflict  mankind,  He 
preached  to  all  justice,  which  is  the  commencement 
of  fraternity,  and  fraternity  which  is  the  consum- 
mation of  justice. 

Now,  justice  commands  us  to  respect  the  right  of 
others,  and  sometimes  fraternity  bids  us  give  up 
our  own  right,  for  the  sake  of  peace  or  some  other 
blessing. 

What  would  be  the  world,  if  right  ceased  to 
reign,  if  each  were  not  secure  in  his  person,  and 
could  not  enjoy  without  fear  that  which  belongs  to 
him? 

Better  to  live  in  the  midst  of  the  forests,  than  in 
a  society,  thus  given  up  to  plunder. 

What  you  shall  lay  hold  of  to-day,  another  will 


02  THE    POOK    MAN  S    GOSPEL. 

snatch  from  you  to-morrow.  Men  will  be  more 
wretched  than  the  birds  of  the  air,  from  whom  the 
other  birds  ravish  neither  food  nor  nest. 

What  is  a  poor  man  ?  A  man  who  as  jet  has  no 
property. 

"What  does  he  wish  for?  To  cease  to  be  poor,  that 
is  to  say:  to  acquire  property. 

Now,  he  who  robs,  who  plunders,  what  does  he 
do  but  to  abolish,  so  far  as  is  in  his  power,  the  very 
right  of  property? 

To  plunder,  to  steal  then,  is  to  attack  the  poor 
man  as  well  as  the  rich  man;  it  is  to  overthrow  the 
foundation  of  all  society  among  men. 

"Whoever  has  nothing,  would  be  unable  to  acquire 
property,  except  that  others  already  have  property ; 
because  they  alone  can  give  him  something  in 
exchange  for  his  labor. 

Order  is  the  advantage,  the  interest  of  all. 

Drink  not  at  the  cup  of  crime:  at  the  bottom  is 
bitter  sorrow,  and  anguish,  and  death. 

X. 

THE   TKAMP   IN   JAIL. 

On !  who  shall  give  back  to  me  the  valley  where 


THE   TEAMP  IN   JAIL.  33 

I  was  born;  and  my  rocks;  and  the  high  pine-trees, 
sown  over  their  declivities;  and  the  verdant  mead- 
ows, where — in  limpid  water,  hidden  under  the 
flowery  grass— 1  bathed  my  feet  at  the  melting  of 
the  snow? 

Between  the  earth  and  me,  poor  child  of  the 
mountains,  they  have  placed  a  massive  wall  and 
iron  bars. 

When  I  appeared  before  them,  they  asked  me: 
How  do  you  live? 

By  the  work  of  my  hands,  I  answered,  but  all  at 
present  refuse  it,  and  nothing  remains  for  me  to  do, 
bat  to  starve  and  die. 

You  die  with  hunger?  'tis  crime!  And  your 
dwelling-place?  Have  you  a  dwelling-place? 

The  night  having  come,  and  all  the  doors  being 
shut  to  me  for  want  of  money,  I  seek  shelter  where 
Providence  guides  me. 

You  have  no  dwelling-place?  't  Is  crime!  Law  is 
express  on  that  point:  Prison! 

Impostors,  who  call  yourselves  the  disciples  of 
the  Son  of  Man,  of  Him  who  went  through  this 
world,  poor  and  forlorn,  and  had  not  where  to  lay 
His  head,  look  up  to  His  image  above  you,  behold 
the  indignant  expression  of  His  face,  and  see  His 
2 


lips  open  in  saint-like  wrath  to  accurse  both  you 
and  your  laws! 

Are  not  the  air  and  the  sun  the  property  of  all  ? 
Has  God  constructed  jails  for  any  of  His  creatures? 

Sheperds  of  my  native  valley,  rejoice  in  your 
humble  huts!  There,  at  least,  poverty  is  no  crime, 
and  there  the  traveler  always  finds  a  little  milk  and 
a  crust  of  bread  to  appease  his  hunger,  and  dried 
leaves  to  rest  on. 

In  the  midst  of  you,  my  brothers !  how  happily 
passed  the  blessed  days  of  my  youth!  How  deli- 
ciously  my  thoughts  would  wander  in  the  boundless 
realms  of  fancy,  while  reclining  on  the  greensward, 
at  the  foot  of  *a  moss-grown  rock,  I  inhaled  the 
intoxicating  fragrance  of  our  perfumed  plants,  lis- 
tening to  the  sweet  song  of  the  thrush,  and  the 
roar  of  the  torrent,  which  rolled  on  and  dashed  its 
spray  on  the  pebbles  at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine! 

How  thickly  these  reminiscences  crowd  upon  me ! 
I  eee  the  light  clouds  creeping  up  the  mountain- 
ridges,  folding  and  folding  again  into  a  thousand 
fantastic  shapes,  then  rising  toward  their  top,  and 
surrounding  them  with  a  dark  diadem. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  that  scarcely  perceptible 
point  above  me?  It  is  the  eagle,  who  pursues  his 


UNION  IS   STRENGTH.  35 

calm,  majestic  flight  through  immensity.  He,  the 
eagle,  is  free! 

And  the  wild  goat  also  is  free  on  its  solitary  rock, 
and  the  bear  is  free  in  its  cavern,  and  the  bird  in 
the  woods,  and  the  insect  in  the  grass. 

Oh !  wherefore  cannot  I  be  the  insect  in  the  grass, 
the  bird  in  the  woods,  the  bear  in  its  cavern,  or  the 
wild  goat  on  its  solitary  rock! 

All  creatures  go  and  come  as  they  please,  and 
breathe,  under  God's  heaven,  an  air  which  none 
metes  out  to  them. 

The  pauper  is  the  only  exception ;  the  pauper  is 
an  outlaw;  he  is  the  outcast  of  creation. 

Who  could  have  foretold,  oh  God!  that  the  day 
would  come,  when  I  should  lament  my  being  a  man ! 

XI. 

UNION   IS   STEENGTH. 

WHEN  one  of  you  suffers  an  injustice,  when,  on 
his  way  through  the  world,  the  oppressor  overthrows 
and  places  his  foot  upon  him;  if  he  complains,  no 
one  hears  him. 

The  cry  of  the  poor  ascends  to  God,  but  reaches 
not  the  ear  of  man. 


36 

And  I  asked  myself:  Whence  comes  this  evil? 
Can  it  have  been  the  will  of  Him  who  created  the 
poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  the  weak  as  well  as  the 
strong,  to  take  away  from  the  one  all  fear  in  his 
iniquity,  from  the  other  all  hope  in  his  wretched- 
ness? 

And  I  perceived  that  this  was  a  horrible  thought, 
a  blasphemy  against  God. 

Because  each  of  you  loves  only  himself,  because 
he  separates  himself  from  his  brothers,  because  he 
is  alone  and  wishes  to  be  alone,  his  complaint  is 
not  heard. 

In  spring,  when  everything  revives,  there  comes 
from  the  grass  a  noise  which  arises  like  a  long 
murmur. 

That  noise,  formed  by  so  many  noises,  that  one 
would  not  be  able  to  count  them,  is  the  voice  of  an 
innumerable  number  of  poor,  little,  invisible  crea- 
tures. 

Alone,  no  one  of  them  would  be  heard:  all  to- 
gether, they  make  themselves  heard. 

You  also  are  hidden  in  the  grass;  why  does  no 
voice  come  forth  from  you? 

When  one  desires  to  cross  a  rapid  river,  a  long 
line  is  made  in  two  rows,  and  thus  clinging  together, 


UNION   IS   STRENGTH.  37 

those  who,  alone,  would  not  have  been  able  to  resist 
the  force  of  the  waters,  pass  over  without  trouble. 

Act  in  this  manner,  and  you  will  break  the  cur- 
rent of  iniquity,  which  sweeps  you  away  when  you 
are  alone,  and  casts  you  bruised  upon  the  bank. 

Let  your  resolutions  be  slow,  but  firm.  Yield 
not  to  a  first,  nor  to  a  second  impulse. 

But  if  some  injustice  has  been  done  to  you,  com- 
mence by  banishing  from  your  heart  every  feeling 
of  hatred,  and  then,  raising  your  hands  and  eyes  on 
high,  say  to  your  Father,  who  is  in  Heaven: 

O.h,  Father!  Thou  art  the  protector  of  the  inno- 
cent and  of  the  oppressed ;  for  it  is  Thy  love  which 
has  created  the  world,  and  it  is  Thy  justice  which 
governs  it. 

Thy  will  is  that  it  reign  on  earth,  and  the  wicked 
oppose  their  evil  wish  to  it. 

For  this  reason,  we  have  resolved  to  fight  against 
the  wicked. 

Oh,  Father!  give  wisdom  to  our  spirit,  and 
strength  to  our  arms! 

When  you  shall  have  prayed  thus  from  the 
bottom  of  your  soul,  battle  and  fear  nothing. 

If,  at  first,  victory  seems  to  elude  you,  it  is  but  a 
trial,  it  will  return  again:  for  your  blood  will  be 


38 

like  the  blood  of  Abel,  killed  by  Cain,  and  your 
death  will  be  like  the  death  of  martyrs. 

XII. 

THE    SACRED    WAR. 

YOUNG  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  for  God  and  the  altars  of  my  native 
land. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  for  justice,  for  the  holy  cause  of 
the  people,  for  the  sacred  rights  of  mankind. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go  ? 

I  go  to  battle  for  the  deliverance  of  my  brothers 
from  oppression,  to  break  their  chains  and  the 
chains  of  the  world. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  against  the  men  of  iniquity,  in 
favor  of  those  whom  they  crush  and  trample  under 
their  feet,  against  the  master  for  the  slave,  against 
the  tyrant  for  liberty. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 


THE    SACKED   WAK.  39 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go  ? 

I  go  to  battle  that  all  may  no  longer  be  the  spoil 
of  the  few,  to  raise  up  the  drooping  heads,  and  to 
support  the  knees  which  bend. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  that  the  fathers  may  no  longer 
curse  the  day,  on  which  was  said  to  them :  A  son  is 
born  unto  you ;  nor  the  mothers  that  on  which  they 
pressed  him  for  the  first  time  to  their  breast. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  that  the  brother  may  no  longer  be 
afflicted  at  seeing  his  sister  fade  away  like  the  plant 
which  the  earth  refuses  to  nourish;  that  the  sister 
may  no  longer  gaze  in  tears  upon  her  brother  who 
parts,  and  shall  return  no  more. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  that  each  may  eat  in  peace  the  fruit 
of  his  toil;  to  dry  the  tears  of  the  little  children 
who  ask  for  bread,  and  receive  the  answer:  There 
is  no  more  bread:  what  remained  has  been  taken 
away  from  us. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 


40 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  for  the  poor,  that  he  may  not  always 
be  despoiled  of  his  share  in  the  common  heritage. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go  ? 

I  go  to  battle  and  to  drive  hunger  from  the  huts, 
to  bring  back  to  homes  abundance,  security  and 
gladness. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  to  restore  to  those  whom  their 
oppressors  have  cast  into  the  depths  of  dungeons, 
the  air  which  their  lungs  need  and  the  light  which 
their  eyes  seek. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  to  overturn  the  barriers  which  sep- 
arate nations,  and  prevent  them  from  embracing  as 
sons  of  the  same  father,  created  to  live  united  in  the 
same  love. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go  ? 

I  go  to  battle  to  liberate  thought,  speech,  con- 
science, from  the  tyranny  of  man. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 


A   SERMON  ON   LOVE.  41 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go  ? 

I  go  to  battle  for  the  eternal  laws,  descended  from 

O  ' 

on  high,  for  justice  which  protects  right,  for  fratern- 
ity which  mitigates  the  evils  which  are  inevitable. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  young  soldier! 

Young  soldier,  whither  dost  thou  go? 

I  go  to  battle  that  all  may  have  in  heaven  a  God, 
and  on  earth  a  fatherland. 

May  thine  arms  be  blessed,  seven  times  blessed, 
young  soldier! 

XIII. 

A    SERMON    ON   LOVE. 

You  have  only  a  day  to  spend  here  on  earth;  act 
in  such  a  manner  that  you  may  spend  it  in  peace. 

Peace  is  the  fruit  of  love;  for  in  order  to  live  in 
peace,  we  must  bear  with  a  great  many  things. 

None  is  perfect,  each  has  his  failings;  each  hangs 
upon  the  other,  and  love  alone  renders  that  weight 
light. 

If  you  cannot  bear  with  your  brother,  how  will 
your  brother  with  you? 

It  is  written  of  the  son  of  Mary:  that  having 
loved  His  own  which  were  in  the  world,  He  loved 
them  unto  the  end. 


42 

For  that  reason :  love  your  brother  who  is  in  the 
world,  and  love  him  unto  the  end. 

Love  is  indefatigable,  it  never  grows  weary.  Love 
is  inexhaustible;  it  lives  and  is  born  anew  in  the 
living,  and  the  more  it  pours  out,  the  fuller  its 
fountain. 

Whosoever  loves  himself  better  than  he  loves  his 
brother,  is  not  worthy  of  Christ:  who  died  for  His 
brothers.  Have  you  given  away  every  thing  you 
possess?  go  and  give  up  your  life  also:  love  will 
restore  all  to  you. 

Yerily,  I  say  unto  you:  the  heart  of  the  man  that 
loves,  is  a  paradise  on  earth.  He  has  God  within 
him,  for  God  is  love. 

The  wicked  man  loves  not,  he  covets:  he  hungers 
and  thirsts  for  everything;  his  eye,  like  unto  the 
eye  of  the  serpent,  fascinates  and  allures,  but  only 
to  devour. 

Love  rests  at  the  bottom  of  every  pure  soul,  like 
a  drop  of  dew  in  the  calyx  of  a  flower. 

Oh!  if  you  knew  what  it  is  to  love! 

You  say  that  you  love :  and  many  of  your  broth- 
ers are  in  want  of  bread  to  sustain  their  life;  in 
want  of  clothing  to  cover  their  naked  limbs;  in 
want  of  a  roof  to  shelter  themselves;  in  want  of 


THE   PKOLETAKIAN.  43 

a  handful  of  straw  to  sleep  on — whilst  you  have  all 
things  in  abundance. 

You  say  that  you  love:  and  a  great  number 
there  are  who,  destitute  of  succor,  pine  away  their 
lives  in  sickness  on  a  miserable  couch — poor 
wretches  who  weep,  whilst  no  one  weeps  with  them ; 
how  many  little  children  there  are  who,  shivering 
with  cold,  go  from  door  to  door,  begging  the  rich 
for  the  crumbs  from  their  table,  and  do  not  obtain 
them. 

You  say  that  you  love  your  brothers: — and  what 
then  would  you  do,  if  you  hated  them? 

Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you:  whosoever,  being 
able  to  do  so,  does  not  relieve  his  brother  who 
suffers — is  an  Enemy  to  his  brother;  and  whosoever, 
being  able  to  do  so,  does  not  give  nourishment  to 
his  starving  brother  —  is  the  Murderer  of  his 
brother. 

XIY. 

THE   PROLETARIAN.* 

TAKE  pity,  oh  God,  on  the  poor  proletarian ! 
"When  I  came  into  this  world,  my  father  was  no 


*  PROLETAKIAN  :    A  man  who  has  no  property,  and  depends  entirely 
on  his  physical  strength  for  support. 


more.  One  day,  the  fleshless  spectre,  called  Misery, 
entered  his  dwelling;  he  struggled  against  it  hand 
to  hand;  he  struggled  for  a  long  time;  but  finally 
his  strength  abandoned  him.  Then  came  down  the 
angel  who  delivers,  and  inclining  over  his  couch : 
Thou  hast,  said  the  angel,  accomplished  thy  rough 
task  in  this  world;  now,  pass  on  to  a  better  life. 

My  mother,  with  her  own  hands,  dressed  him  for 
the  grave;  then  she  remained  alone.  Alone?  I^o; 
the  spectre  was  constantly  there. 

When  the  time  of  her  delivery  had  come,  she 
gave  birth  to  me,  with  great  pains,  and  she  cried. 
She  cried,  my  mother,  for  she  had  no  swaddling- 
clothes  to  wrap  her  first-born  in. 

And  later,  her  tears  fell  more  abundantly  still, 
when  she  saw  that  her  milk  was  drying  up  for  want 
of  food,  and  that  the  heat  of  her  breast,  as  little  as 
her  feeble  breath,  were  able  to  warm  the  emaciated 
limbs  of  her  child. 

By  strength  of  love,  making  a  sacrifice  of  her  own 
life,  she  preserved  mine.  Working  all  the  day,  all 
the  night  long,  without  fire  during  the  winter,  and 
exposed  to  the  burning  heat  in  summer,  her  only 
care,  during  all  those  long  and  wearisome  hours,  con- 
sisted in  protecting  me  from  the  sufferings  she 


THE   PROLETARIAN.  45 

endured  for  my  sake,  and  her  only  delight  was  to 
smile  on  me. 

However,  I  grew  up.  She  redoubled  her  efforts, 
in  order  that  a  little  instruction  might  smooth  the 
path,  which  I  was  to  tread  in  later  years.  Oh! 
how  her  heart  leaped  with  joy,  when  the  school  was 
over,  on  seeing  her  child  return  gay  and  contented 
— as  we  are  at  that  age — dressed  in  his  little  blouse, 
with  a  leathern  belt,  girded  round  his  waist,  a  cap  on 
his  golden  locks,  and  the  strap,  which  contained  his 
books,  dangling  from  his  shoulder! 

Then  came  the  time  of  my  apprenticeship.  I 
rejoiced  at  the  idea  that  the  time  would  not  be  long, 
before  I  should  be  able  to  pay  back  to  her,  from 
whom  I  had  received  everything,  a  little  of  that 
which  her  inexhaustible  tenderness  had  bestowed 
upon  me.  In  my  dreams,  I  saw  myself  bringing 
her  the  fruit  of  my  first  labor,  and  saying  to  her: 
Now,  let  the  toil  be  mine,  mother!  and  do  you  take 
repose. 

Alas !  in  a  few  years  she  had  worn  out  her  whole 
existence.  He  who  from  Heaven  had  made  himself 
the  support,  the  comforter  of  the  poor  widow, 
called  her  back  to  Him.  Her  decline  was  rapid. 
At  last,  she  expired  in  my  arms.  The  very  moment 


46 

she  breathed  her  last,  her  mute  lips  were  smiling 
at  me,  and  her  dying  look  blessed  me  for  a  last 
time. 

When  they  lowered  her  into  the  grave,  and  the 
sound  of  the  falling  mould  grew  duller  and  more 
dull,  Thou  alone,  oh  God!  Thou  knowest  what 
passed  within  me. 

Henceforth,  standing  alone  in  this  world,  I  lived 
as  if  I  did  not  belong  to  it,  feeding  on  reminis- 
cences, vague  reveries  and  melancholy  hopes. 

One  day,  in  the  midst  of  those  sombre  shadows, 
a  gentler  light  appeared  to  me.  On  my  solitary 
path,  Providence  guided  a  youthful  maiden,  an 
orphan  like  myself.  The  dew  of  spring  is  less  pure, 
than  was  her  heart.  After  a  first  glance,  our  eyes 
looked  downward,  and  it  was.  our  silence  alone 
which  spoke.  Our  souls,  inclining  the  one  toward 
the  other,  in  that  moment  were  united  forever. 

No!  heaven,  among  its  purest  ecstacies,  has  noth- 
ing that  can  be  compared  to  the  ravishing  hours 
which  flew  away  during  our  conversations.  I  said 
to  her:  There  is  not  one  who  cares  either  for  you 
or  for  me;  to  us  two  the  world  is  a  wilderness.  My 
poor,  little  turtle-dove  of  the  forest,  I  will  go  and 
look  for  your  food,  and  I  will  build  you  a  nest, 


THE    PEOLETAEIAN.  47 

where  you  shall  repose,  sheltered  from  cold  and 
storm. 

Whereto  she  answered:  And  whilst  I  shall  be 
occupied  with  other  cares  during  jour  absence,  at 
your  return  my  caresses  will  soothe  away  your 
weariness:  but,  oh  my  well-beloved!  come  back 
quickly! 

I  wasted  away  in  the  longing  for  her  possession; 
but  she,  wiser  than  I  was,  repressed  my  ardor,  and 
said:  Think  of  those  who  will  come;  let  us  first 
save  a  little. 

The  term  of  this  long  waiting  was  nearly  ended, 
when,  of  a  sudden :  Labor  is  no  longer  in  demand. 
They  cut  down  the  wages,  and  they  go  on  cutting 
them  down:  take  that,  or  starve! 

Our  laboring  strength  is  all  that  we  possess; 
other  property  than  our  muscles  we  have  not !  That 
is  the  way  in  which  the  proletarians  make  answer. 
And  they  concert  together  that  they  may  live:  they 
are  thrown  into  prison. 

Oh,, justice  of  mankind!  how  shalt  thou  tremble 
in  thy  fear  that  day,  when  thou  art  judged  by  the 
Justice  of  God! 

The  rest  is  but  one  lugubrious  dream. 

During  the  long  and  dreary  weeks  of  my  confine- 


48  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

raent,  I  saw  her  twice,  thrice  perhaps,  through  the 
grates  of  my  cell.  The  last  time,  her  sunken  eyes 
sparkled  with  strange  fire,  her  knees  were  bent,  she 
could  scarcely  stand. 

Thereafter,  I  did  not  see  her  again. 

Oh,  mother  darling!  Oh,  my  dearest  beloved! 
Is  it  you  whom  I  perceive  there  above  me  in  that 
light?  "Who  calls  me?  Is  it  you?  Do  not  forsake 
me!  oh,  do  not  forsake  me!  I  feel  my  chains  give 
way:  one  moment,  one  single  moment  more,  and 
we  shall  be  reunited. 

Take  pity,  oh  God,  on  the  poor  proletarian! 

XV. 

THE    UNBELIEVER. 

You  will  meet  men,  who  love  not  God,  and  who 
fear  Him  not:  shun  them,  for  a  vapor  of  execration 
issues  from  them. 

Shun  the  impious,  for  his  breath  kills;  but  hate 
him  not,  for  who  knows,  if  God  has  not  already 
changed  his  heart? 

o 

The  man  who,  even  sincerely,  says:  I  believe  not, 
often  deceives  himself.  Deep  down  in  the  soul,  at 
the  very  bottom,  there  is  a  root  of  faith,  which 
withers  not. 


THE    UNBELIEVER.  49 

The  word  which  denies  God,  scorches  the  lips 
over  which  it  passes,  and  the  mouth  which  opens  to 
blaspheme,  is  a  vent  of  hell. 

The  impious  is  alone  in  the  Universe.  All  crea- 
tures praise  God,  all  that  feel  bless  Him,  all  that 
think  adore:  the  sun  by  day  and  stars  by  night  sing 
Him  in  their  mysterious  language. 

He  has  written  on  the  firmament  His  name  thrice 
holy. 

Glory  to  God  in  the  highest! 

He  has  written  it  likewise  in  the  heart  of  man, 
and  the  good  man  preserves  it  there  with  love;  but 
others  endeavor  to  blot  it  out. 

Peace  on  earth  to  men  of  good  will! 

Their  sleep  is  sweet,  and  their  death  is  still  more 
sweet,  for  they  know  that  they  return  to  their  Father. 

Even  as  the  poor  laborer,  at  the  decline  of  day, 
quits  the  fields,  seeks  his  hut,  and  sitting  down  at 
the  door,  forgets  his  weariness,  in  viewing  the 
heavens:  so,  when  evening  comes,  the  man  of  hope 
returns  with  joy  to  his  Father's  house,  and,  sitting 
on  the  threshold,  forgets  the  toils  of  the  exile  in 
the  visions  of  eternity. 


XYI. 

THE   TWO    NEIGHBORS. 

Two  men  were  neighbors,  and  each  of  them  had 
a  wife  and  several  small  children,  and  his  sole  labor 
was  to  make  for  them  a  living. 

And  one  of  these  two  men  made  himself  very  un- 
easy, saying:  If  I  die,  or  if  I  fall  sick,  what  will 
become  of  my  wife  and  my  children? 

And  this  thought  did  not  quit  him,  and  it  gnawed 
at  his  heart,  as  a  worm  gnaws  the  fruit,  in  which 
it  is  hidden. 

Now,  although  the  same  thought  had  come  like- 
wise to  the  other  father,  he  would  not  entertain  it; 
for,  said  he,  God,  who  knows  all  His  creatures,  and 
who  watches  over  them,  will  also  watch  over  me, 
and  over  my  wife,  and  over  my  children. 

And  this  one  lived  tranquilly,  whereas  the  first 
did  not  taste  a  moment  of  peace,  nor  of  mental  en- 
joyment. 

One  day,  as  he  was  laboring  in  the  fields,  sad  and 
downcast  because  of  his  fear,  he  saw  a  number  of 
birds  enter  a  bush,  come  out,  and  soon  return  to  it 
again. 


THE   TWO   NEIGHBOES.  51 

And  having  approached,  he  saw  two  nests  placed 
side  by  side,  and  in  each  several  young  birds  newly 
hatched  and  still  featherless. 

And  when  he  had  returned  to  his  labor,  from 
time  to  time  he  raised  his  eyes  and  watched  the 
birds,  how  they  went  and  came,  carrying  food  to 
their  young. 

But,  behold!  at  the  moment  that  one  of  the  mo- 
thers came  back  with  food  in  her  bill,  a  vulture 
seizes  her,  bears  her  away,  and  the  poor  mother, 
vainly  struggling  in  its  talon,  uttered  piercing  cries. 

At  this  sight,  the  man  who  labored  felt  his  soul 
more  troubled  than  before:  for,  thought  he,  the 
death  of  the  mother  is  the  death  of  the  children. 
Mine  have  also  but  me.  "What  will  become  of  them, 
if  I  die? 

And  the  whole  day  he  was  gloomy  and  sad,  and 
at  night  he  slept  not. 

The  next  morning,  on  returning  to  the  fields,  he 
said  to  himself:  I  will  go  and  see  the  young  of  that 
poor  mother:  several  of  them,  without  doubt,  have 
already  perished.  And  he  turned  his  steps  toward 
the  bush. 

And  looking,  he  saw  the  young  in  good  health ; 
not  one  of  them  seemed  to  have  suffered. 


52  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

And  surprised  at  this,  he  hid  himself  to  watch 
what  would  take  place. 

And  after  a  short  time,  he  heard  a  feeble  cry,  and 
he  saw  the  second  mother,  bringing  in  haste  the 
food  which  she  had  gathered,  and  she  distributed  it 
to  all  the  young,  without  distinction,  and  there  was 
enough  for  all,  and  the  orphans  were  not  forsaken 
in  their  distress. 

And  the  father,  who  had  doubted  Providence, 
related,  in  the  evening,  to  the  other  father  what  he 
had  seen. 

And  this  one  said  to  him:  Wherefore  be  uneasy? 
God  never  abandons  His  own.  His  love  has  secrets 
which  we  know  not.  Let  us  believe,  let  us  hope, 
let  us  love,  and  pursue  our  path  in  peace. 

If  I  die  before  you,  you  will  be  a  father  to  my 
children ;  if  you  die  before  me,  I  will  be  the  father 
of  yours. 

And  if  we  both  die,  before  they  are  old  enough 
to  provide  for  themselves,  they  shall  have  for  a 
father  the  Father  who  is  in  Heaven. 


PEAYEE.  53 

XYIL 

PEAYEE. 

you  have  prayed,  do  you  not  feel  your 
heart  lighter,  and  your  soul  more  content? 

Prayer  makes  affliction  less  grievous,  and  joy 
more  pure:  it  imparts  to  the  one  I  know  not  what 
of  strength  and  of  sweetness,  and  to  thex  other  a 
celestial  perfume. 

What  do  ye  on  the  earth,  and  have  ye  nothing  to 
ask  of  Him  who  placed  you  here? 

You  are  a  traveler  in  search  of  his  fatherland. 
Walk  not  with  head  bent  down:  you  must  raise 
your  eyes  to  know  your  way. 

Your  fatherland  is  heaven ;  and  when  you  look 
up  to  heaven,  does  it  move  you  in  no  way?  does  no 
desire  press  upon  you?  or  is  that  desire  dumb? 

There  are  some  who  say:  Of  what  benefit  is 
prayer?  God  is  too  far  above  us  to  listen  to  creat- 
ures so  pitiful. 

And  who  then  made  these  pitiful  creatures,  who 
gave  them  feeling,  thought  and  speech,  if  not  God? 

And  if  He  has  been  so  good  to  them,  was  it  to 
cast  them  off  afterwards,  and  to  keep  them  afar 
from  Him? 


54: 

Verily,  I  say  unto  yon,  whosoever  says  within 
his  heart,  that  God  despises  His  works,  blasphemes 
against  God. 

There  are  others  who  say:  What  is  the  nse  of 
praying?  Does  God  not  know  better  than  we,  what 
we  need? 

God  does  know  better  than  you,  what  you  need, 
and  it  is  for  this  reason,  that  He  wishes  you  to  ask 
it  of  Him;  for  God  Himself  is  your  first  need,  and 
to  pray  to  God,  is  commencing  to  possess  God. 

The  father  knows  the  needs  of  his  son;  must 
that  be  a  reason,  why  the  son  never  should  have  a 
word  of  prayer  and  of  thanksgiving  for  his  father? 

"When  the  animals  suffer,  when  they  are  in  fear, 
or  when  they  are  hungry,  they  utter  plaintive  cries. 
These  cries  are  the  prayer  which  they  address  to 
God,  and  God  listens.  Should  man  be  then,  in  cre- 
ation, the  only  being  whose  voice  never  ascends  to 
the  ear  of  the  Creator? 

Sometimes  there  passes  over  the  fields  a  wind 
which  dries  up  the  plants,  and  then  their  withered 
stems  are  seen  to  droop  to  the  earth;  but,  moistened 
by  the  dew,  they  regain  their  freshness,  and  raise 
anew  their  languishing  heads. 

There  are  always  blasting  winds,  which  pass  over 


THE   REWARD    OF   JUSTICE   AND    FRATERNITY.       55 

the  soul  of  man,  and  dry  it  up.     Prayer  is  the  dew 
which  revives  it. 

XVIII. 

THE  REWARD    OF   JUSTICE  AND    FRATERNITY. 


to  do  unto  others,  what  we  should  not  wish 
that  others  should  do  unto  us,  that  is  justice. 

To  do  unto  others,  on  every  occasion,  what  we 
should  wish  that  others  should  do  unto  us,  that  is 
fraternity. 

A  man  lived  by  his  labor,  he,  his  wife  and  his 
little  children  ;  and  as  he  enjoyed  good  health,  had 
vigorous  arms,  and  easily  found  employment,  he 
could,  without  much  difficulty,  provide  for  his  sub- 
sistence and  that  of  his  family. 

But  it  came  to  pass  that  times  having  become 
very  hard  over  all  the  country,  labor  was  in  little 
demand,  because  it  no  longer  yielded  profit  to 
employers,  and  at  the  same  time  the  price  of  the 
necessaries  of  life  advanced. 

The  man  of  labor  and  his  family,  then,  began  to 
suffer  much.  Having  soon  exhausted  his  small  sav- 
ings, he  was  forced  to  sell,  piece  by  piece,  first  his 
furniture,  then  most  of  his  clothing;  and  when  he 
had  thus  stripped  himself,  he  remained,  deprived  of 


56 

all  resources,  face  to  face  with  hunger.  And  hun- 
ger alone  had  not  entered  his  dwelling:  sickness 
had  come  in  with  it. 

Now,  this  man  had  two  neighbors,  the  one  more 
rich,  the  other  less. 

He  called  upon  the  first,  and  said:  We  are  in 
want  of  everything,  I,  my  wife  and  my  children: 
have  compassion  on  us. 

The  rich  man  answered  him:  How  can  I  help 
that?  When  you  have  worked  for  me,  have  I  ever 
withheld  your  wages,  or  have  I  ever  deferred  the 
payment  of  them  ?  I  never  did  any  wrong,  neither 
to  you,  nor  to  any  other:  my  hands  are  clean  of -all 
iniquity.  I  feel  sorrow  for  your  distress,  but  every 
one  must  think  of  himself  in  these  bad  times:  who 
knows  how  long  they  may  last? 

The  poor  father  answered  not,  and  slowly  return- 
ing home,  his  heart  full  of  anguish,  he  met  his 
other  neighbor,  who  was  less  rich. 

The  latter,  seeing  him  pensive  and  sad,  said  to 
him:  "What  troubles  you?  there  is  care  on  your 
brow  and  tears  in  your  eyes? 

And  the  father,  with  a  trembling  voice,  made 
known  his  distress  to  him. 

When  he  had  -finished:     Wherefore,   said   the 


THE    REWARD    OF    JUSTICE    AND    FRATERNITY.      57 

other  to  him,  be  so  despondent  ?  Are  we  not 
brothers!  And  how  could  I  abandon  my  brother 
in  his  troubles?  Come  with  me,  and  we  will  share 
that  which  I  enjoy  through  the  goodness  of  God. 

In  this  manner,  the  family  which  suffered  was 
relieved,  until  they  could  provide  for  themselves. 

Several  years  passed  by.  The  two  rich  neighbors 
appeared  before  the  Sovereign  Judge  of  human 
actions. 

And  the  Judge  said  to  the  first:  My  eye  has 
followed  thee  on  earth:  thou  hast  refrained  from 
wronging  thy  fellow-men,  from  violating  their 
rights;  thou  hast  rigorously  accomplished  the  strict 
law  of  justice;  but  in  that  accomplishment,  thou 
hast  lived  for  thyself  alone;  thy  hard,  unfeeling 
soul  has  not  understood  the  law  of  love.  And  now, 
in  this  new  world,  where  thou  enterest  poor  and 
naked,  unto  thee  shall  be  done  as  thou  didst  unto 
others.  Thou  hast  kept  for  thyself  alone  the  bles- 
sings which  fell  to  thy  lot;  thou  hast  bestowed 
nothing  upon  thy  brothers:  nothing  shall  be  given 
to  thee.  Thou  hast  thought  of  thyself  alone:  go 
how,  and  live  on  thyself. 

And  turning  towards  the  second,  the  Judge  said 
to  him :  Forasmuch  as  thou  hast  not  only  been  just, 


58  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

but  as  fraternity  has  penetrated  thy  heart;  because 
that  thy  hand  opened  itself  to  distribute  among 
thy  brothers,  who  were  less  happy,  the  blessings  of 
which  thou  wast  the  depositary;  and  since  thy  hand 
wiped  away  the  tears  of  those  who  wept:  greater 
blessings  shall  be  given  unto  thee.  Go  and  receive 
the  reward  of  him  who  has  fully  accomplished  his 
duties:  the  law  of  justice  and  the  law  of  love. 

XIX. 

MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTER. 

IT  was  a  winter-night.  The  wind  howled  with- 
out, and  the  snow  whitened  the  roofs. 

Beneath  one  of  those  roofs,  in  a  narrow  chamber, 
were  sitting,  at  their  needle-work,  a  woman  with 
white  hair  and  a  young  maiden. 

And  from  time  to  time,  the  aged  woman  warmed 
at  a  small  brasier  her  thin  hands.  A  lamp  of  clay 
shed  its  feeble  light  around  in  this  wretched  abode, 
and  a  ray  from  the  lamp  seemed  to  expire  upon  a 
picture  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  hanging  on  the 
wall. 

And  the  young  maiden,  lifting  her  eyes,  gazed  in 
silence,  for  a  few  moments,  upon  the  white-haired 


MOTHER   AND    DAUGHTER.  59 

woman;  then  said  to  her:  Mother,  you  have  not 
always  been  in  such  poverty. 

And  there  was  in  her  voice  a  sweetness  and  a 
tenderness  indescribable. 

And  the  white-haired  woman  replied:  My  daugh- 
ter, God  is  our  Master:  His  doing  is' well  done. 

Having  uttered  these  words,  she  was  silent  for  a 
time;  then  she  resumed: 

When  I  lost  your  father,  it  was  an  affliction 
which  I  believed  beyond  consolation:  however,  you 
were  left  to  me;  but  I  thought  at  that  time  of  only 
one  thing. 

Later,  I  knew  that  if  he  had  lived,  and  had  seen 
us  in  such  distress,  his  heart  would  have  broken ; 
and  I  have  realized  that  God  had  been  good  to  him. 

The  young  maiden  made  no  answer,  but  dropped 
her  head,  and  a  few  tears,  which  she  strove  to  hide, 
fell  upon  the  linen  which  she  held  in  her  hands. 

The  mother  went  on:  God,  who  has  been  good  to 
him,  has  also  been  good  to  us.  Of  what  have  we 
been  in  want,  while  so  many  others  are  in  want  of 
everything? 

It  is  true,  we  have  been  compelled  to  accustom 
ourselves  to  a  little,  and  to  earn  that  little  by  our 
labor,  but  does  that  little  not  suffice  us?  and  have 


60 

not  all,  from  the  beginning,  been  condemned  to  live 
by  their  labor? 

God,  in  His  kindness,  has  given  us  every  day 
our  daily  bread:  and  how  many  have  it  not?  a 
shelter — and  how  many  know  not  where  to  retire? 

He  has  given  you,  my  daughter,  to  me:  of  what 
should  I  complain? 

At  these  last  words,  the  young  maiden,  much 
moved,  sunk  down  at  her  mother's  knee,  took  her 
hands,  kissed  them,  and  lying  upon  her  bosom,  wept. 

And  the  mother,  making  an  effort  to  raise  her 
voice,  said:  My  daughter,  happiness  is  not  possess- 
ing much,  but  hoping  and  loving  much. 

Our  hope  is  not  of  this  world,  nor  is  our  love, 
and  if  it  be,  it  is  only  fleeting. 

After  God,  you  are  my  all  in  this  world;  but  this 
world  passes  away  like  a  dream,  and  this  is  why 
my  love  rises  with  you  to  another  world. 

"When  I  carried  you  unborn,  one  day  I  prayed 
more  ardently  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  she  appeared 
to  me  during  my  sleep,  and  with  a  celestial  smile, 
she  seemed  to  present  to  me  a  little  child. 

And  I  took  the  infant  which  she  offered  me,  and 
as  I  held  it  in  my  arms,  the  Virgin -Mother  placed 
on  its  head  a  crown  of  white  roses. 


SOCIETY,  ITS    PAST,  PRESENT   AND    FUTURE.          61 

A  few  months  later,  you  were  born,  and  the 
sweet  vision  was  always  before  my  eyes. 

Saying  this,  the  white-haired  woman  trembled, 
and  pressed  to  her  heart  the  young  maiden. 

A  short  time  after  that,  a  devout  soul  saw  two 
shining  forms  ascend  toward  Heaven,  and  a  group 
of  angels  bore  them  company,  and  the  air  resounded 
with  their  songs  of  gladness. 

XX. 

SOCIETY,    ITS    PAST,    PRESENT    AND    FUTURE. 

PART   I. 

ALL  things  in  this  world  are  not  like  they  ought 
to  be.  There  are  too  many  evils,  and  those  evils 
are  too  great.  Such  can  never  have  been  the  will 
of  God. 

All  men,  born  from  one  and  the  same  father, 
should  have  formed  one  single,  great  family,  united 
by  the  sweet  tie  of  fraternal  love.  That  family,  in 
its  growth,  would  have  resembled  a  tree,  the  trunk 
of  which,  on  shooting  up,  produces  numerous 
branches,  whence  spring  boughs  and  twigs,  and 
from  these,  others  still;  all  of  them  nourished  by 
the  same  sap,  all  animated  by  the  same  life. 


62  THE  TOOK  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

In  a  household,  all  have  in  view  the  benefit  of  all, 
because  all  love  one  another,  and  because  all  have 
a  share  in  the  common  weal.     There  is  not  one  of 
its  members,  who  does  not  contribute  to  it  in  one 
way  or  another,  according  to  his  strength,  his  intel- 
lect, or  his  particular  aptitudes;  one  does  such  a 
thing,  another  something  else;  but  the  action  of 
each  is  profitable  to  all,  and  the  action  of  all  is 
profitable  to  each.     Whether  there  be  little  or  much, 
they  share  like  brothers;  around  the  domestic  fire- 
side no  distinctions  exist.     Starvation  is  not  per- 
ceived to  sit  there  by  the  side  of  abundance.     The 
cup,  which  God  fills  with  His  gifts,  passes  from 
hand  to  hand ;  and  the  aged  man  as  well  as  the  lit- 
tle child,  he  who  cannot  endure  fatigue  any  longer, 
as  well  as  he  who  cannot  endure  it  yet;  and  he  who 
returns  from  the  field,  his  brow  bathed  with  perspi- 
ration— all  indiscriminately  bring  that  cup  to  their 
lips.     Their  joys,  their  sufferings,  are  all  common. 
If  one  among  them  is  infirm,  if  he  is  taken  ill,  if  he 
becomes  unfit  for  labor  before  old  age  is  there,  the 
others  provide  for  and  take  care  of  him,  so  that  he 
is  never  abandoned. 

There,  where   only  one   interest   exists,  no  com- 
petition is  possible;  from  that  moment  no  discus- 


SOCIETY,  ITS   PAST,  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE.    '     63 

sions  can  occur.  That  which  gives  birth  to  dis- 
sensions, hatred  and  envy,  is  the  insatiable  desire 
of  ever  possessing  more  and  more,  when  one  pos- 
sesses for  one's  self  alone.  Providence  accurses  those 
individual  possessions.  They  continually  irritate 
covetousness,  and  never  gratify  it.  Those  blessings 
alone  do  we  really  enjoy,  which  we  share  with  others. 

Father,  mother,  children,  brothers,  sisters,  are 
there  names  saintlier  and  sweeter  than  those?  and 
for  what  reason  are  there  any  other  names  on  earth  ? 

If  those  ties  had  been  preserved  such  as  they  were 
primitively,  we  never  would  have  known  the  greater 
part  of  the  evils  which  afflict  the  human  race,  and 
sympathy  would  have  alleviated  those  evils  which 
are  unavoidable.  Those  tears  alone  are  composed 
of  unmixed  bitterness,  which  drop  down  on  no  one's 
bosom,  and  which  no  one  wipes  away. 

Whence  does  it  come  that  our  destiny  is  so  bur- 
densome, and  our  life  so  full  of  miseries?  Let  us 
lay  the  fault  upon  none  but  ourselves ;  we  have  been 
unmindful  of  the  laws  of  nature,  we  have  deviated 
from  its  beaten  path.  He  who  parts  with  his 
traveling  companions,  in  order  to  climb  up  amongst 
the  rocks  without  assistance,  must  not  complain  if 
the  ascent  is  rough.  ' 


64 

Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air;  for  they  sow  not, 
neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns;  yet  your 
heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are  ye  not  much 
better  than  they? 

There  is  room  for  all  of  us  on  this  earth,  and 
God  has  rendered  it  fertile  enough  that  it  may 
abundantly  provide  for  the  wants  of  all.  There- 
fore, if  a  great  many  of  our  fellow-creatures  want 
what  is  necessary  to  live,  it  is  because  man  has 
disturbed  the  order,  established  by  God;  it  is  be- 
cause he  has  destroyed  the  unity  of  the  primitive 
family;  it  is  because  the  members  of  that  family 
have  first  become  strangers  to  one  another,  and 
afterward  enemies  to  one  another. 

Multitudes  of  particular  societies,  clans,  tribes 
and  nations  have  formed  themselves,  which,  instead 
of  protecting  one  another,  had  iio  other  thought 
but  of  injuring  one  another. 

All  the  wicked  passions  which  arise  from  selfish- 
ness— and  selfishness  itself — have  armed  brothers 
against  brothers;  each  has  sought  his  own  interest 
at  the  expense  of  others;  rapine  has  banished  secu- 
rity from  the  world;  war  has  devastated  it.  They 
have  furiously  contended  for  the  bloody  fragments 
of  the  common  inheritance.  AVhen  strength  now 


SOCIETY,^ITS   PAST,  PRESENT   AND  FUTURE.         65 

— which  was  destined  for  labor  which  produces — 
is  nearly  entirely  employed  for  destruction ;  when 
conflagrations,  plunder  and  murder  show  man's 
passage  over  the  earth;  when  conquest  overthrows 
the  natural  relations  between  each  population  and 
the  space  of  territory  which  it  occupies  and  is 
able  to  cultivate;  when  numberless  obstacles  inter- 
rupt or  stop  the  communications  between  one  coun- 
try and  another  country,  and  the  free  exchange  of 
their  productions; — is  it  otherwise  possible  but  that 
disorders  of  so  profound  a  nature  should  not  give 
birth  to  sufferings  equally  profound? 

The  nations  thus  set  at  variance  amongst  them- 
selves, each  nation,  moreover,  has  brought  discord 
into  itself.  Some  men  have  arisen,  who  uttered 
this  impious  word:  We  alone  have  a  right  to  com- 
mand and  to  govern;  the  others  have  no  business 
but  to  obey. 

They  have  made  the  laws  in  their  benefit,  and 
maintained  them  by  force.  On  one  side:  power, 
wealth  and  enjoyment;  on  the  other  side:  the 
whole  burden  of  society. 

In  certain  times  and  in  certain  countries,  man 
has  become  the  property  of  man;  they  have  traf- 


66  THE  POOK  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

ficked  in  man,  they  have  sold  him,  they  have  bought 
him  like  a  beast  of  burden. 

In  other  countries  and  in  other  times,  without 
depriving  him  of  his  liberty,  they  have  done  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  fruit  of  his  labor  was  almost 
entirely  appropriated  by  those  who  held  him  under 
their  dependency.  Better  would  have  been  for  him 
a  state  of  complete  slavery;  for  the  master  at  least 
feeds,  lodges  and  clothes  his  slave,  and  takes  care 
of  him  when  he  is  sick,  on  account  of  the  interest 
he  has  in  preserving  him;  but  he  who  belongs  to 
no  one,  they  make  use  of  him  as  long  as  there  is 
any  profit  to  get  out  of  him,  and  then  they  throw 
him  aside.  What  else  might  he  be  good  for,  when 
old  age  and  labor  have  worn  out  his  strength,  but 
to  die  of  hunger  and  cold  at  the  corner  of  a  street? 
Yet,  even  the  very  sight  of  him  might  give  offense 
to  those  who  enjoy  all  the  pleasures  of  life.  It  is 
possible  that  on  seeing  them  pass  by,  he  might  ask 
of  them:  A  piece  of  bread,  for  the  sake  of  God! 
That  would  not  be  agreeable  to  hear.  And  so  it 
happens  that  they  pick  him  up,  and  throw  him  into 
one  of  those  filthy  places  which  they  call  POOR- 
HOUSES,  and  which  are  like  the  approach  to  a  dung- 
hill. 


SOCIETY,  ITS    PAST,  PRESENT    AND   FUTURE.          67 

Everywhere,  the  excessive  love  of  self  has  extin- 
guished the  love  of  others.  Brothers  have  said  to 
their  brothers :  We  are  not  of  the  same  lineage  as 
you;  our  blood  is  purer;  we  do  not  wish  to  mingle 
with  yours.  You  and  your  offspring,  you  are  forever 
destined  to  serve  us. 

Elsewhere,  they  have  established  distinctions  not 
on  birth,  but  on  money. 

How  much  are  you  worth? 

So  much. 

,  That  is  right;  sit  down  at  the  social  banquet,  the 
table  is  spread  for  you.  As  for  you  who  possess 
nothing,  get  you  gone! 

Does  there  exist  a  fatherland  for  the  poor  man? 

And  thus  it  is  that  wealth  has  marked  the  ranks 
and  established  the  classes ;  they  have  had  preroga- 
tives of  all  kinds  because  they  were  rich ;  the  exclu- 
sive privilege  of  having  a  share  in  the  administra-, 
tion  of  the  affairs  of  all,  that  is  to  say — of  doing  their 
own  business  at  the  expense  of  all,  or  nearly  all. 

The  PROLETARIANS,  as  they  are  called  with  a  su- 
perb disdain,  although  individually  enfranchised, 
have  been  collectively  the  property  of  those  who 
rule  the  relations  between  the  members  of  society, 
the  movement  of  industry,  the  conditions  of  labor, 


68  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

its  price,  and  the  partition  of  its  fruits.  What  it 
has  pleased  them  to  ordain,  they  have  called  LAW; 
and  the  greater  part  of  those  laws  have  been  noth- 
ing better  than  measures  of  private  interest,  means 
for  the  augmenting  and  perpetuating  of  domina- 
tion, and  the  abuses  of  the  domination  of  the  smaller 
number  over  the  greater  number. 

And  that  is  what  has  become  of  the  world,  when 
the  tie  of  fraternity  was  broken :  Repose  and  opu- 
lence, and  all  the  advantages  on  one  side;  whereas, 
on  the  other  side,  nothing  but  fatigue  and  misery, 
and  the  Potter's  field  at  the  end. 

The  former,  under  different  names,  constitute 
what  is  called  the  higher  classes  of  society;  the  lat- 
ter form  what  is  called  the  people. 

XX. 

SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE. 
PART    II. 

You  are  the  people.  In  the  first  place,  you 
should  know  who  are  the  people. 

There  are  men  who,  bent  under  the  burden  of 
the  day,  incessantly  exposed  to  the  sun,  the  rain, 
the  wind  and  all  the  inclemencies  of  the  seasons, 


SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE.  69 

till  the  ground,  deposit  into  its  bosom,  beside  the 
seed  which  shall  bear  fruit,  a  part  of  their  strength 
and  of  their  life,  and  in  this  manner  obtain  from  it, 
by  the  sweat  of  their  face,  the  food  which  is  nec- 
essary to  all. 

Those  men  are  men  of  the  people. 

Others  fell  the  forests;  work  the  quarries  and 
the  mines;  descend  to  immense  depths  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  in  order  to  extract  from  it  salt, 
coal,  mineral  ore  and  all  the  materials  indispensable 
to  trades  and  arts.  These,  as  well  as  the  former, 
grow  old  in  rough  labor,  with  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing for  all  the  things  which  all  need. 

These,  also,  are  men  of  the  people. 

Others  melt  the  metals,  mould  them,  and  fashion 
them  into  shapes,  which  render  them  fit  for  a  thou- 
sand various  uses;  there  are  others  who  work  in 
wood ;  others  weave  the  wool,  the  flax,  the  silk,  and 
manufacture  cloths  of  all  kinds;  others  in  the  same 
manner  provide  for  the  different  necessities  which 
spring  either  directly  from  nature,  or  from  the 
social  condition. 

These,  likewise,  are  men  of  the  people. 

Many,  amidst  continual  perils,  travel  over  the 
seas  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  the  peculiar 


TO 

productions  of  one  country  to  other  countries;  or, 
they  struggle  against  waves  and  tempests  under 
the  scorching  sun  of  the  tropics,  as  well  as  amidst 
the  polar  icebergs,  either  to  the  end  of  increasing 
the  common  stock  by  fishing,  or  in  order  to  wrest 
from  the  ocean  a  multitude  of  productions,  useful  to 
human  life. 

These,  equally,  are  men  of  the  people. 

And,  who  take  up  arms  for  their  country,  who 
defend  her,  who  sacrifice  to  her  the  most  beautiful 
years  of  their  life,  their  vigils,  yea,  even  their  blood ! 
who  devote  themselves  and  die  for  the  security  of 
others,  in  order  to  warrant  them  the  quiet  enjoy- 
ment of  the  domestic  fireside,  if  not  the  children  of 
the  people? 

And  there  are  some  'among  them  who,  across  a 
thousand  obstacles,  pushed  on,  and  sustained  by 
their  genius,  develop  and  perfect  the  arts,  letters 
and  the  sciences,  which  refine  the  morals,  civilize 
the  nations,  surround  them  with  that  brilliant  splen- 
dor, called  glory,  and  in  a  word — constitute  the 
most  fertile  among  all  sources  of  public  prosperity. 

And  thus  it  is  that  in  every  country,  all  those 
who  toil  and  drudge  in  order  to  bring  forth  and  to 
spread  the  productions;  all  those  whose  labor  turns 


SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  A.ND  FUTURE.  71 

to  the  profit  of  the  whole  community;  the  classes 
which  are  the  most  useful  to  its  welfare  and  the 
most  indispensable  to  its  conservation,  are  none  else 
but — the  people.  Take  away  a  small  number  of 
privileged  persons,  buried  in  mere  enjoyment,  and 
the  people  is  all  mankind. 

"Without  the  people,  all  prosperity,  all  develop- 
ment, all  life  would  be  impossible;  for,  without 
work  no  life  is  possible,  and  work  is  everywhere  the 
portion  allotted  to  the  people. 

If  the  people  suddenly  disappeared,  what  would 
become  of  society?  Society  would  disappear  with 
it.  There  would  be  left  only  a  few  rare  individu- 
als, scattered  over  the  land,  who  thereupon  would 
be  obliged  to  cultivate  it  with  their  own  .hands.  In 
order  to  live,  they  would  immediately  be  compelled 
to  become  the  people  themselves. 

The  question  now  which  arises,  is  this:  In  that 
society,  which  is  almost  entirely  composed  of  the 
people,  and  which  only  subsists  through  the  people, 
what  is  the  people's  condition?  what  does  that 
society  do  for  the  people? 

It  condemns  them  to  struggle  incessantly  against 
multitudes  of  obstacles  of  all  kinds,  which  it  opposes 
to  the  amelioration  of  their  lot,  to  the  alleviation  of 


72 

their  hardships;  leaving  to  them  but  a  scanty  por- 
tion of  the  fruit  of  their  labor;  it  treats  the  people 
like  the  ploughman  treats  his  horse  and  his  ox,  and 
oftentimes  a  great  deal  worse;  under  different 
names  it  constantly  proclaims:  A  servitude  without 
end,  and  a  wretchedness  without  hope! 

XX. 

SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE. 
PART    III. 

IF  it  were  possible  to  compute  all  the  sufferings 
which,  for  centuries  and  centuries,  the  people  have 
undergone  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  not  in  conse- 
quence of  the  laws  of  Nature,  but  through  the  vices 
of  Society,  the  number  would  be  equal  to  the  grass- 
blades,  covering  that  earth,  which  is  moistened  with 
their  tears. 

Will  such,  then,  for  ever  be  the  case?  Is  that 
multitude,  then,  doomed  to  go  perpetually  through 
the  same  circle  of  afflictions?  Have  they  nothing 
to  expect  from  the  future?  On  all  the  points  of 
their  road,  traced  through  the  immensity  of  time, 
shall  we,  then,  never  hear  anything  else  spring  from 
their  hearts  but  that  one  mournful  cry  of  distress? 


SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE.  73 

Is  there  really,  then,  within  or  without  them,  some 
fatal  necessity  which  must  forbid  them  a  better 
condition  until  the  end?  Has  God  in  heaven,  then, 
condemned  them  to  suffer  in  the  same  manner  for 
ever  and  ever? 

Throw  it  from  you,  that  thought.  That  would 
be  as  if  you  blasphemed  within  yourselves. 

The  ways  of  God  are  ways  of  love.  That  which 
proceeds  from  Him,  arej  not  the  evils  which  afflict 
those  poor  creatures,  but  the  blessings  which  He 
scatters  around  them  with  profusion. 

The  gentle,  tepid  breeze  which  revives  them  in 
spring,  is  His  breath ;  and  the  dew  which  refreshes 
them  during  the  burning  heat  of  summer,  is  His 
moist  respiration. 

There  are  some  who  say:  On  coming  into  this 
world,  you  are  predestined  to  be  tortured ;  here  be- 
low, your  life  is  and  can  be  no  other.  But  the  real 
tortures  are  those  who  create  them,  and  because  they 
have  established  their  welfare  on  no  other  founda- 
tion than  the  misfortunes  of  others,  they  should  like 
to  persuade  them  that  their  wretchedness  is  irre- 
mediable, and  that  even  to  try  to  get  out  of  it, 
would  be  an  attempt  as  criminal,  as  it  is  senseless. 

Do  not  listen  to  such  false  reasonings.     It  is  true, 


74' 

perfect  felicity  to  which  every  human  being  aspires, 
is  not  of  this  world;  we  pass  through  it,  in  order  to 
attain  an  object,  to  perform  our  duties,  and  to  accom- 
plish a  work;  our  repose  will  be  on  the  other  side 
only,  and  the  present  is  the  time  to  labor.  That 
labor,  however,  pursuant  to  the  design  of  Him  who 
imposes  it,  cannot  be  meant  to  be  a  continual  chas- 
tisement; but  on  the  contrary,  as  much  as  the  efforts 
to  which  it  obliges  us  will  allow,  that  labor,  although 
a  mixed  happiness,  may  be  a  real  blessing  to  us,  a 
commencement  of  the  joy,  in  which  shall  consist  the 
reward  of  achievement. 

"We  are  like  the  ploughman:  He  sows  at  the  be- 
ginning of  winter,  and  does  not  reap  before  autumn. 
Yet,  who  would  call  his  fatigue  entirely  unproduc- 
tive of  pleasure,  for  does  not  contentment  spring  up 
in  his  furrows  in  the  same  time  with  hope? 

The  remedy  for  that  wretchedness,  which  they  try 
to  make  you  believe  is  incurable,  rests  with  your- 
selves; and  since  the  obstacle  is  not  in  Nature,  but 
in  Man,  you  will  be  able  to  remove  it  as  soon  as  you 
wish;  for  those  who  misunderstand  their  own  in- 
terest, and  would  try  to  prevent  you  from  remov- 
ing it,  what  is  their  strength  in  comparison  to 
yours?  You  number  a  hundred  against  every  one 
of  theirs! 


SOCIETY,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE.  75 

If  up  to  the  present,  you  have  reaped  so  little 
fruit  by  your  efforts,  how  can  you  be  astonished  at 
it?  You  held  in  your  hands  that  which  overthrows, 
and  you  had  not  in  your  hearts  that  which  builds 
up;  sometimes  justice  was  not  on  your  side;  charity 
never  was. 

You  had  to  defend  your  rights;  you  yourselves, 
or  those  who  made  use  of  your  name,  have  often 
attacked  the  rights  of  others.  It  was  incumbent 
upon  you  to  establish  FRATERNITY  on  earth,  the 
Kingdom  of  God  and  the  reign  of  Love.  Instead 
of  that,  every  one  of  you  has  thought  of  himself 
alone;  every  one  of  you  had  no  other  interest  in 
view  but  his  own ;  hatred  arid  envy  have  inspirited 
you.  Search  to  the  bottom  of  your  hearts,  and 
almost  everyone  of  you  will  Und  there  this  secret 
thought:  I  toil  and  suffer;  that  man  does  nothing 
and  swims  in  enjojonent;  wherefore  he  rather  than 
I?  and  the  desire  which  you  foster,  is  to  be  in  his 
place,  so  that  you  might  live  and  behave  as  he  does. 

That,  now,  would  not  be  to  exterminate  the  evil, 
but  to  perpetuate  it.  The  evil  consists  in  the 
injustice,  and  not  in  its  being  rather  you  than  I 
who  profit  by  the  injustice. 

Do  you  wish  to  succeed?     Do  that  which  is  good 


76 

through  good  means  alone.  Do  not  confound  the 
force  which  is  directed  by  justice  and  charity,  with 
the  ferocious  violence  of  the  brute. 

Do  }TOU  wish  to  succeed?  So  think  of  your 
brothers  as  of  yourselves;  that  their  cause  be  your 
cause;  their  interest  your  interest;  their  distress 
your  distress;  see  and  feel  yourselves  only  in  them; 
let  your  indifference  be  transformed  into  a  profound 
sympathy,  and  your  self-love  into  self-sacrifice.  And 
if  you  do  so,  you  shall  not  be  any  longer  scattered 
individuals,  with  whom  a  few,  who  are  better  united, 
do  whatever  they  please;  you  shall  be  one,  and  the 
day  on  which  you  shall  be  one,  you  shall  be  all ;  and 
who  hereafter  shall  dare  to  interpose  himself 
between  you  and  the  object  you  wish  to  attain? 
Isolated,  as  you  are  standing  at  present,  because 
every  one  of  you  bestows  attention  upon  himself 
alone  and  his  personal  pursuits,  they  set  you  in 
opposition  the  one  to  the  other;  they  subdue  you 
the  one  through  the  other;  but  when  you  all  shall 
have  one  and  the  same  interest,  one  and  the  same 
will,  the  day  that  one  and  the  same  end  shall  be 
pursued  by  you  all — where  is  the  power  that  will  be 
able  to  vanquish  you? 

But  it  is  most   essential  that  you   should  well 


SOCIETY,   ITS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE.  77 

understand  in  what  your  task  consists,  or  else  all 
your  efforts  will  prove  abortive. 

Your  task  is  not  to  create  yourselves  individually 
a  better  lot,  for  in  that  case  the  great  majority 
would  remain  suffering  in  the  same  manner,  and 
nothing  would  "be  changed  in  the  world;  good  and 
evil  would  continue  in  the  same  proportion,  and  as 
they  concern  the  individual,  they  would  only  be 
distributed  in  a  different  way;  there  where  you  rise, 
another  would  go  down,  and  that  would  be  the  only 
result. 

Your  task  is  not  to  substitute  one  domination 
for  another  domination.  "What  does  it  matter  who 
rules?  All  domination  implies:  distinct  classes; 
consequently,  privileges;  consequently,  an  assem- 
blage of  interests  which  continually  clash  against 
one  another;  and  in  consequence  of  the  laws, 
made  by  the  higher  classes  to  secure  the  advan- 
tages of  their  superior  position,  the  immolation 
of  all,  or  nearly  all,  to  a  few.  The  people  is  like 
the  soil  of  the  earth,  where  all  those  different  classes 
take  root. 

But  the  task  which  is  incumbent  upon  you,  is 
this,  it  is  a  great  one:  You  have  to  form  the  UNI- 
VERSAL FAMILY;  to  build  the  City  of  God;  to  real- 


78 

ize  progressively,  by  an  uninterrupted  course  of 
effort,  His  work  in  humanity. 

And,  when  loving  one  another  like  brothers,  you 
shall  mutually  treat  one  another  like  brothers; 
when  each  of  you,  seeking  his  happiness  in  the 
happiness  of  all,  shall  unite  his  life  to  the  life  of 
all,  and  his  interests  to  the  interests  of  all,  ready 
at  any  moment  to  sacrifice  himself  for  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  common  family,  who  in  their  turn  are 
ready  to  sacrifice  themselves  for  him — the  greater 
part  of  the  evils,  under  the  burden  of  which  the 
human  race  is  groaning,  will  disappear,  like  the 
mists,  which  veil  the  horizon,  are  dispelled  on  the 
rising  of  the  sun;  and  the  will  of  God  will  be 
accomplished,  for  His  will  is:  That  Love,  gradually 
uniting  the  scattered  elements  of  mankind  in  a 
manner  ever  and  ever  more  intimate,  and  organiz- 
ing them  into  one  body,  shall  make  all  mankind 
One,  as  He  Himself  is  One. 

XXI. 

THE    CITY   OF    SATAN   AND    THE    CITY   OF    GOD. 

THE  evils  which  afflict  the  earth  come  not  from 
God,  for  God  is  love,  and  all  that  He  has  made,  is 


THE  CITY  OF  SATAN  AND  THE  CITY  OF  GOD.    79 

good;  they  come  from  Satan,  whom  God  has  ac- 
cursed, and  from  those  men  who  have  'Satan  for 
father  and  for  a  master. 

Now,  the  children  of  Satan  are  numerous  in  the 
world.  In  order  as  they  pass  by,  God  records  their 
names  in  a  sealed  book,  which  will  be  opened  and 
read  before  all  at  the  end  of  tin>e. 

There  are  men  who  love  only  themselves;  and 
these  are  men  of  hatred,  for  to  love  one's  self  alone, 
is  to  hate  others. 

There  are  men  of  pride,  who  can  endure  no  equals, 
who  always  wish  to  command  and  domineer. 

There  are  men  of  covetousness,  who  constantly 
cry  for  gold,  for  honors,  for  pleasures,  and  are  never 
satisfied. 

There  are  men  of  rapine,  who  lie  in  wait  for  the 
feeble  to  despoil  him  by  force  or  by  cunning,  and 
who  spy  by  night  around  the  dwelling  of  the  wid- 
ow and  of  the  orphan. 

There  are  men  of  crime,  who  have  only  vicious 
thoughts,  who  say:  You  are  our  brothers,  and  kill 
those  whom  they  call  their  brothers,  as  soon  as  they 
suspect  them  to  be  opposed  to  their  designs,  and  in 
their  blood  write  the  law. 

There  are  men  of  fear,  who  tremble  before  the 


80 

wicked  and  kiss  his  hand,  hoping  thus  to  escape 
from  his  oppression,  and  who  when  one  innocent  is 
attacked  on  the  public  square,  hasten  to  return 
home,  and  make  fast  their  door. 

All  those  men  have  destroyed  peace,  safety  and 
liberty  upon  the  earth. 

You  will  then  restore  liberty,  safety,  peace,  only 
by  struggling  against  them  without  ceasing. 

The  City  which  they  have  founded,  is  the  City  of 
Satan;  you  have  to  rebuild  the  City  of  God. 

In  the  City  of  God,  each  loves  his  brother  as 
himself,  and  that  is  why  no  one  is  forsaken, 
no  one  suffers  there,  if  there  be  a  remedy  for  his 
sufferings. 

In  the  City  of  God,  all  are  equal,  no  one  dom- 
ineers, for  justice  reigns  alone  there  with  love. 

In  the  City  of  God,  each  possesses  his  own  with- 
out fear,  and  desires  nothing  more,  because  that 
which  each  has,  is  for  all,  and  because  all  possess 
God,  who  unites  in  Himself  all  riches. 

In  the  City  of  God,  no  one  sacrifices  others  to 
himself,  but  each  stands  ready  to  sacrifice  himself 
for  others. 

In  the  City  of  God,  should  a  wicked  person  creep 
in,  all  shun  him  and  all  unite  to  restrain  him,  or  to 


THE    SEVEN   KINGS.  81 

drive  him  out:  for  the  wicked  is  the  enemy  of  each, 
and  the  enemy  of  each  is  the  enemy  of  all. 

When  you  shall  have  rebuilt  the  City  of  God, 
the  earth  will  bloom  again,  and  the  nations  will 
-flourish  anew,  because  you  will  have  overcome  the 
children  of  Satan,  who  oppress  the  nations  and  lay 
waste  the  earth,  the  men  of  pride,  the  men  of 
rapine,  the  men  of  slaughter  and  the  men  of  fear. 

XXII. 

THE  SEVEN  KINGS. 
PART    I. 

IT  was  a  dark  night;  a  sky. without  stars  hung 
above  the  earth,  like  a  cover  of  black  marble  over  a 
tomb. 

And  nothing  disturbed  the  stillness  of  that  nighty 
but  a  strange  noise,  like  a  feeble  flapping  of  wings, 
which  from  time  to  time  was  heard  over  the  fields 
and  the  cities; 

And  then  the  darkness  grew  thicker,  and  every  one 
felt  his  heart  compressed,  and  a  shivering  run 
through  his  veins. 

And  in  a  hall,  draped  in  black,  and  illumined  by 
a  reddish  light,  seven  men,  clothed  in  purple,  their 
6 


82  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

heads  encircled  with  crowns,  sat  on  seven  seats  of 
iron. 

And  in  the  midst  of  the  hall  was  erected  a  throne, 
composed  of  dead  men's  bones,  and  at  the  foot  of 
the  throne  was  an  overthrown  crucifix  for  a  foot- 
stool; before  the  throne  stood  a  table  of  ebony,  and 
on  the  table  a  vase,  filled  with  red,  frothing  blood, 
and  a  human  skull. 

And  the  seven  crowned  men  seemed  pensive  and 
sad,  and  their  eyes,  from  the  bottom  of  their  sunken 
sockets,  let  now  and  then  escape  flashes  of  livid  fire. 

And  one  among  them,  having  arisen,  approached 
the  throne  with  tottering  step,  and  placed  his  foot 
on  the  crucifix. 

In  that  moment,  his  limbs  trembled,  and  he 
seemed  on  the  point  of  swooning.  The  others  fixed 
their  gaze  steadfastly  upon  him ;  they  moved  not. 
but  I  know  not  what  passed  over  their  brow,  and  a 
smile,  not  human,  contracted  their  lips. 

And  he  who  had  seemed  on  the  point  of  swooning, 
stretched  out  his  hand,  seized  the  vase,  filled  with 
blood,  poured  part  of  it  into  the  skull,  and  drank. 

And  that  draught  seemed  to  strengthen  him. 

And  throwing  back  his  head,  this  cry  issued  from 
his  breast,  like  a  death-rattle: 


THE    SEVEN   KINGS.  83 

Accursed  be  Christ,  who  has  brought  back  to 
earth  Liberty ! 

And  the  six  other  crowned  men  arose  together, 
and  together  rent  the  air  with  the  same  cry: 

Accursed  be  Christ,  who  has  brought  back  to 
earth  Liberty ! 

Whereupon,  sitting  down  again  upon  their  seats 
of  iron,  the  first  said: 

Brothers,  what  shall  we  do  in  order  to  extinguish 
Liberty?  For  our  reign  is  at  an  end,  if  His  begins. 
Our  cause  is  the  same:  let  each  propose  what  he 
deems  fitting. 

As  for  me,  this  is  the  advice  which  I  give.  Be- 
fore Christ  came,  who  stood  erect  before  us?  It  is 
His  religion  which  has  ruined  us :  let  us  abolish  the 
religion  of  Christ. 

And  all  answered:  It  is  true.  Let  us  abolish  the 
religion  of  Christ. 

And  a  second  moved  forward  towards  the  throne, 
took  the  human  skull,  poured  blood  into  it,  drank, 
and  thereupon  spoke: 

It  is  not  religion  only  which  we  must  abolish, 
but  science  and  thought  also;  for  science  seeks  to 
understand  that,  which  is  not  good  for  us  that  man 
should  know,  and  thought  is  always  ready  to  resist 
authority. 


84:  THE    POOR    MAN'S    GOSPEL. 

And  all  answered:  It  is  true.  Let  us  abolish 
science  and  thought. 

And  having  done  as  the  two  first,  a  third  spoke: 

When  we  shall  have  replunged  men  into  brutish- 
ness,  by  taking  away  from  them  religion,  and  sci- 
ence, and  thought,  we  shall  have  done  a  great  deal, 
but  something  more  will  remain  to  be  done. 

The  brute  has  instincts  and  dangerous  sympa- 
thies. I  will  that  no  nation  hear  the  voice  of 
another  nation,  lest  if  the  one  begins  to  complain 
and  grow  restless,  others  be  tempted  to  follow 
its  example.  That  no  rumor  from  abroad  pen- 
etrate among  us. 

And  all  answered:  It  is  true.  That  no  rumor 
from  abroad  penetrate  among  us. 

And  a  fourth  said:  "We  have  our  interest,  and  the 
nations  have  their  interest  likewise,  opposed  to  ours. 
If  they  unite  against  us  to  defend  that  interest,  how 
shall  we  resist  them? 

Let  us  divide  in  order  to  reign.  Let  us  create  in 
each  province,  in  each  town,  in  each  hamlet,  an 
interest  opposed  to  that  of  every  other  hamlet, 
every  other  town,  and  every  other  province. 

So,  each  shall  hate  the  other,  and  they  shall  not 
think  of  uniting  against  us. 


THE    SEVEN    KINGS.  85 

And  all  answered:  It  is  true.  Let  us  divide  in 
order  to  reign:  concord  would  kill  us. 

And  a  fifth  having  twice  filled  with  blood,  and 
twice  emptied  the  human  skull,  spoke: 

I  approve  all  these  means,  they  are  good,  but 
insufficient.  Make  brutes,  that  is  well ;  but  frighten 
those  brutes,  strike  them  with  terror,  by  means  of 
an  inexorable  justice  and  atrocious  penalties,  if  you 
do  not  wish  to  be  devoured  by  them  sooner  or  later. 
The  executioner  is  the  first  minister  of  a  good  prince. 

And  all  answered:  It  is  true.  The  executioner 
is  the  first  minister  of  a  good  prince. 

And  a  sixth  said: 

I  admit  the  advantage  of  sudden,  terrible,  inevi- 
table penalties.  Yet,  there  exist  strong  minds  and 
desperate,  who  brave  all  penalties.' 

Do  you  wish  to  govern  men  easily,  enervate  them 
through  voluptuousness.  Yirtue  does  nothing  for 
us;  it  begets  strength:  let  us  rather  exhaust  it 
through  corruption. 

And  all  answered:  It  is  true.  Let  us  exhaust 
strength,  and  energy,  and  courage  through  corrup- 
tion. 

Then,  the  seventh,  having  like  the  others  drunk 
from  the  human  skull,  spoke  in  this  manner,  his 
feet  resting  on  the  crucifix: 


Christ  is  abolished;  there  is  war  unto  death, 
eternal  war  between  Him  and  us. 

But  how  shall  we  detach  from  Him  the  people? 
That  is  a  vain  attempt.  What  shall  we  do  then? 
Listen:  we  must  buy  the  priests  of  Christ  with 
wealth,  honors  and  power. 

And  they  shall  command  the  people,  in  the  name 
of  Christ,  to  be  entirely  submissive  to  us,  whatever 
we  may  do,  whatever  we  may  prescribe; 

And  the  people  will  believe  them,  and  will  obey 
through  conscience,  and  our  authority  shall  be  more 
firmly  established  than  before. 

And  all  answered:  It  is  true.  Let  us  corrupt 
the  priests  of  Christ. 

And  suddenly  the  light,  which  illumined  the 
hall,  went  out,  and  the  seven  men  separated  in 
darkness. 

And  to  one  righteous  who,  at  that  moment, 
waked  and  prayed  before  the  cross,  these  words 
were  spoken :  My  day  approaches.  Adore  and  fear 
nothing. 


THE   SEVEN  KINGS.  87 

XXII. 

THE    SEVEN   KINGS. 

PART  II. 

AND  through  a  gray  and  dense  fog,  I  saw,  as  is 
seen  on  earth  at  the  hour  of  twilight,  a  plain,  naked, 
desolate  and  cold. 

In  the  midst  arose  a  rock,  from  which  trickled 
down  drop  by  drop  blackish  water,  and  the  feeble 
and  dull  noise  of  the  drops  as  they  fell,  was  the  only 
noise  heard. 

And  seven  foot-paths,  after  winding  through  the 
plain,  came  to  the  foot  of  the  rock,  and  near  the 
rock,  at  the  entrance  of  each,  was  a  stone,  covered 
with  I  know  not  what  of  slime  and  green,  like  the 
slaver  of  a  reptile. 

And  behold,  in  one  of  the  paths,  I  perceived 
something  like  a  shade  which  moved  forward  slowly; 
and  gradually  the  shade  coming  nearer,  I  discerned, 
not  a  man,  but  the  resemblance  of  a  man. 

And  in  the  region  of  the  heart,  this  human  form 
had  a  stain  of  blood. 

And  it  sat  down  upon  the  stone  slimy  and  green, 
and  its  limbs  shivered,  and  inclining  its  head,  it 


88 

wrapped  itself  in  its  arms,  as  if  to  retain  a  remnant 
of  heat. 

And  by  the  six  other  paths,  six  other  shades  suc- 
cessively arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  rock. 

And  each  of  them,  shivering  and  wrapping  itself  in 
its  arms,  sat  down  upon  the  stone  slimy  and  green. 

And  they  sat  there,  silent  and  oppressed  under 
the  weight  of  some  incomprehensible  anguish. 

And  their  silence  lasted  a  long  time,  I  know  not 
how  long,  for  the  sun  never  rises  on  that  plain:  it 
knows  neither  evening  nor  morning.  The  drops  of 
black  water  there,  in  falling,  alone  measure  a  lapse 
of  time,  monotonous,  dismal,  terrible,  eternal. 

And  that  was  so  horrible  to  see,  that  if  God  had 
not  strengthened  me,  I  should  not  have  been  able  to 
endure  the  sight. 

And,  after  a  sort  of  convulsive  shuddering,  one  of 
the  shades,  raising  its  head,  sent  forth  a  sound,  like 
the  hoarse,  dry  sound  of  the  wind,  whistling  through 
a  skeleton. 

And  the  rock  echoed  these  words  to  my  ear: 

Christ  has  conquered:  accursed  be  He! 

And  the  six  other  shades  shuddered,  and  all 
at  the  same  time  raising  their  heads,  the  same 
blasphemy  issued  from  their  breasts: 


THE    SEVEN   KINGS.  89 

Christ  has  conquered :  accursed  be  He ! 

And  immediately  they  were  seized  with  a  stronger 
shuddering,  the  fog  grew  more  dense,  and  for  a 
moment,  the  black  water  ceased  to  flow. 

And  the  seven  shades  had  bent  down  again  under 
the  burden  of  their  secret  anguish,  and  there  was  a 
second  silence,  longer  than  the  first. 

Thereupon  one  of  them,  without  rising  from  its 
seat,  motionless  and  with  its  head  inclined,  said  to 
the  others: 

The  same,  then,  which  befell  me,  has  befallen 
you.  Of  what  use  to  us  have  been  all  our  counsels! 

And  another  said:  Faith  and  thought  have 
broken  the  chains  of  the  people;  faith  and  thought 
have  enfranchised  the  earth. 

And  another  said:  we  wished  to  divide  men,  and 
our  oppression  has  united  them  against  us. 

And  another:  we  have  shed  blood,  and  that  blood 
has  risen  up  against  us. 

And  another:  "VYe  have  sown  corruption,  and  it 
has  germinated  in  us,  and  it  has  consumed  the  mar- 
row of  our  bones. 

And  another:  We  meant  to  extinguish  Liberty, 
and  its  breath  has  withered  our  power  even  to  the 
root. 


90  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

Then  the  seventh  shade: 

Christ  has  conquered:  accursed  be  He! 

And  all,  of  one  accord,  exclaimed: 

Christ  has  conquered:  accursed  be  He! 

And  I  saw  a  hand  come  forward;  it  dipped  its 
finger  into  the  blackish  water,  whose  drops,  in  fall- 
ing, measure  eternal  time,  marked  with  it  the 
foreheads  of  the  seven  shades,  and  this  was  forever. 

XXIII. 

ALL    ARE   BORN   EQUAL. 

You  have  but  one  Father,  who  is  God,  and  but 
one  Master,  who  is  Christ. 

"When,  therefore,  they  shall  tell  you  of  those,  who 
possess  on  earth  great  power:  Behold  your  masters, 
believe  it  not.  If  they  are  just,  they  are  your  ser- 
vants; if  they  are  not,  they  are  your  tyrants. 

All  are  born  equal:  no  one,  in  coming  into  this 
world,  brings  with  him  the  right  to  command. 

I  have  seen  in  a  cradle  a  child,  crying  and  dreul- 
ing,  and  around  it  were  old  men,  who  called  it: 
LORD,  and  who,  falling  upon  their  knees,  adored  it. 
And  I  have  understood  all  the  misery  of  man. 

It  is  sin  which  has  made  princes;  because,  instead 


ALL   AKE   BOEN   EQUAL.  91 

of  loving  and  aiding  one  another  as  brothers,  men 
began  by  injuring  one  another. 

Then,  from  among  themselves,  they  chose  one  or 
several,  whom  they  thought  the  most  just,  to  pro- 
tect the  good  from  the  wicked,  and  so  that  the  feeble 
might  live  in  peace. 

And  the  power  they  wielded,  was  a  legitimate 
power,  for  it  was  the  power  of  God,  who  wills  that 
justice  reign,  and  the  power  of  the  people  who  had 
elected  them. 

And  therefore  every  one  was  bound  in  conscience 
to  obey  them. 

But  very  soon  there  were  also  found  men,  who 
wished  to  reign  in  their  own  right,  as  if  they  were 
of  a  nature,  loftier,  than  their  brothers. 

And  the  power  of  these  is  not  legitimate,  for  it 
is  the  power  of  Satan,  and  their  domination  is  the 
domination  of  pride  and  cupidity. 

And  this  is  the  reason,  that  unless  greater  evil 
will  result,  every  one  may  and  sometimes  ought  to, 
in  conscience,  resist  them. 

In  the  balance  of  eternal  justice,  your  will  weighs 
more  than  the  will  of  kings;  for  it  is  the  people 
who  make  kings;  and  kings  are  made  for  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  people  are  not  made  for  kings. 


92  THE  POOK  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

The  heavenly  Father  has  not  moulded  the  limbs 
of  His  children  to  be  bruised  by  fetters,  nor  their 
soul  to  be  crushed  by  servitude. 

He  has  united  them  in  families,  and  all  families 
are  brothers;  He  has  united  them  in  nations,  and 
all  nations  are  brothers ;  and  whosoever  parts  family 
from  family,  nation  from  nation,  divides  what  God 
has  united:  he  does  the  work  of  Satan. 

And  that  which  unites  family  to  family,  nation 
to  nation,  is  in  the  first  place  the  law  of  God,  the 
law  of  justice  and  of  fraternity,  and  then  the  law  of 
liberty,  which  is  also  the  law  of  God. 

For,  without  liberty,  what  union  would  exist 
among  men?  They  would  be  united  as  the  horse  is 
united  to  his  rider,  as  the  rod  of  the  master  to  the 
skin  of  the  slave. 

If,  therefore,  any  one  comes  and  says:  You  are 
mine;  reply:  No;  we  belong  to  God,  who  is  our 
Father,  and  to  Christ,  who  is  our  only  Master. 

XXIY. 

DUMB    ANIMALS    AND    INTELLIGENT    ANIMALS. 

THE  people  are  incapable  of  understanding  their 
interests;  for  their  own  welfare,  they  ought  always 


DUMB  ANIMALS  AND  INTELLIGENT  ANIMALS.        93 

to  be  kept  in  tutelage.  Is  it  not  the  part  of  those 
who  have  knowledge,  to  guide  those  who  have  no 
knowledge'* 

So  say  many  hypocrites  who  wish  to  administer 
the  affairs  of  the  people,  to  the  end  of  growing  fat 
on  the  substance  of  the  people. 

You  are  incapable,  they  say,  of  understanding 
your  interests;  and  thereupon,  they  will  not  even 
allow  you  to  dispose  of  what  is  your  own,  for  a 
purpose  you  deem  useful ;  and  they  will  dispose  of 
it,  against  your  will,  for  another  purpose  which 
displeases  and  is  repugnant  to  you. 

You  are  incapable  of  managing  a  petty  property 
in  common,  incapable  of  understanding  what  is 
good  or  bad  for  you,  of  knowing  your  own  needs 
and  providing  for  them;  and  thereupon,  they  will 
send  you  men,  well-paid  at  your  expense,  who  will 
govern  your  estate  to  their  fancy,  prevent  you  from 
doing  what  you  wish,  and  compel  you  to  act  against 
your  wishes. 

You  are  incapable  of  discerning  what  education 
is  proper  for  your  children;  and  in  tenderness  for 
your  children,  they  will  cast  them  into  sinks  of  im- 
piety and  bad  morals,  unless  you  should  prefer  to 
deprive  them  of  every  kind  of  instruction. 


94 

You  are  incapable  of  judging  whether  or  not,  you 
and  jour  family  can  subsist  on  the  salary  they 
allow  you  for  your  labor;  and  they  will  forbid  you, 
under  severe  penalties,  from  concerting  together  to 
obtain  an  increase  of  that  salary,  that  you  may 
live,  you,  your  wives,  and  your  children. 

If  what  this  race  of  greed  and  hypocrisy  says, 
were  true,  you  would  be  far  beneath  the  brute, 
for  the  brute  knows  all  they  assert  that  you  do  not 
know,  and  the  brute  knows  it  by  instinct  alone. 

God  has  not  made  you  to  be  the  herd  of  a  few 
other  men.  He  has  made  you  to  live  free,  in 
society,  as  brothers.  Now,  a  brother  has  no  right 
to  command  his  brother.  Brothers  unite  among 
themselves  by  mutual  consent,  and  that  consent  is 
law,  and  law  must  be  respected,  and  all  should  join 
to  prevent  its  violation,  because  it  is  the  safeguard 
of  all,  the  will  and  the  interest  of  all. 

Be  men:  no  one  is  powerful  enough  to  bend  you 
to  the  yoke  against  your  will;  but  you  can  offer 
your  neck  to  the  bow  yourselves,  if  you  wish. 

There  are  stupid  animals  who  stand  in  the  stall, 
who  are  fed  for  labor,  and  then,  when  they  grow 
old,  are  fattened  for  food. 

There  are  others  that  live  at  large  on  the  plain, 


LIBERTY.  95 

that  cannot  be  bent  to  servitude,  that  do  not  suffer 
themselves  to  be  seduced  by  deceitful  caresses,  nor 
to  be  subdued  by  threats  and  ill-usage. 

The  brave  resemble  the  last:  the  cowardly  are 
like  the  first. 

XXV. 

LIBERTY. 

LEARN  then,  how  to  make  yourselves  free. 

To  be  free,  it  is  above  all  necessary  to  love  God, 
for  if  you  love  God,  you  will  do  His  will ;  and  the 
will  of  God  is  justice  and  fraternity,  without  which 
there  is  no  liberty. 

When,  by  violence  or  through  craft,  one  takes 
away  what  belongs  to  another;  when  one  attacks 
him  in  his  person;  when,  in  a  lawful  matter,  one 
prevents  him  from  acting  as  he  wishes,  or  when 
one  compels  him  to  act  contrary  to  his  wish ;  when 
one  violates  his  right  in  any  manner  soever,  what 
is  that?  An  injustice.  It  is  therefore  injustice 
which  destroys  liberty. 

If  each  loved  himself  alone,  and  thought  only  of 
himself,  without  aiding  others,  the  poor  man  would 
be  obliged  frequently  to  take  away  what  belongs  to 


96 

another,  that  he  may  live  and  support  his  family ; 
the  feeble  would  be  oppressed  by  one  stronger,  and 
he  by  another  still  more  strong;  injustice  would 
reign  everywhere.  Fraternity,  then,  preserves  lib- 
erty. 

Love  God  above  all  things,  and  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself,  and  servitude  will  disappear  from  the  earth. 

Those,  however,  who  profit  by  the  servitude  of 
their  brothers,  will  do  all  in  their  power  to  continue 
it.  To  that  end  they  will  employ  falsehood  and 
power. 

They  will  tell  you  that  the  absolute  authority  of  a 
few  and  the  slavery  of  all  others  is  the  established 
order  of  God;  and  to  maintain  their  tyranny,  they 
will  not  fear  to  blaspheme. Providence. 

Reply  to  them:  that  such  a  God,  their  God,  is 
Satan,  the  enemy  of  the  human  race,  and  that  your 
God  is  He,  who  has  vanquished  Satan. 

Thereupon,  they  will  let  loose  upon  you  their  sat- 
ellites; they  will  construct  prisons  without  number 
to  confine  you  in;  they  will  persecute  you  with  fire 
and  sword;  they  will  torture  you  and  shed  your 
blood  as  the  water  from  the  fountain. 

If,  therefore,  you  are  not  resolved  to  battle  with- 
out ceasing,  to  suffer  all  things  without  blenching, 


THE  PBATEB  OF  THE  PROLETARIANS.       97 

to  never  grow  weary,  never  to  yield,  remain  in  your 
fetters,  and  renounce  a  liberty  of  which  you  are 
not  worthy. 

Liberty  is  like  the  kingdom  of  God;  it  suffereth 
violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force. 

And  the  violence  which  puts  you  in  possession 
of  liberty,  is  not  the  brutish  violence  of  thieves  and 
robbers,  injustice,  vengeance,  barbarity;  but  a  will, 
strong  and  inflexible,  a  courage,  calm  and  generous. 

The  cause  most  holy  changes  into  a  cause,  impi- 
ous and  execrable,  when  crime  is  employed  to  uphold 
it.  From  a  slave,  the  man  of  crime  may  become  a 
tyrant,  but  never  will  he  become  free. 

XXYI. 

THE  PEAYER  OF  THE  PROLETARIANS. 

LORD,  we  cry  unto  Thee  from  the  depths  of  our 
misery. 

Like  animals,  who  are  in  want  of  food  to  give  to 
their  young, 

"We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  ewe,  from  whom  her  lamb  is  taken, 

"We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  dove,  seized  by  the  vulture, 
7 


98 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  gazelle,  under  the  claw  of  the  tiger, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  Lull,  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  scored 
by  the  goad, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  wounded  bird,  pursued  by  the  dog, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  swallow,  fallen  with  weariness,  in  cross- 
ing the  sea,  and  struggling  on  the  wave, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  traveler,  lost  in  a  desert,  burning  and 
destitute  of  water, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  those  shipwrecked  on  a  barren  coast, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  him,  who,  at  nightfall,  encounters,  near  a 
church-yard,  a  hideous  spectre, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  father,  from  whom  is  snatched  the  mor- 
sel of  bread,  he  was  taking  to  his  starving  children, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  prisoner,  whom  unjust  power  has  thrown 
into  a  dungeon,  damp  and  dark, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  PROLETARIANS.       99 

Like  the  slave,  lacerated  by  the  whip  of  his 
master, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  innocent,  who  is  led  to  execution, 

"We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  people  of  Israel  in  the  land  of  bondage, 

"We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  descendants  of  Jacob,  whose  men-chil- 
dren Egypt's  king  caused  to  be  drowned  in  the  Nile, 

"We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  the  twelve  tribes,  whose  labors  were  every 
day  increased  by  their  oppressors,  while  each  day 
their  food  was  diminished, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  all  nations  of  the  earth,  before  deliverance 
had  dawned  upon  them, 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Like  Christ  on  the  cross,  when  He  cried :  Father, 
Father,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me? 

We  cry  unto  Thee,  Lord. 

Oh  Father!  Thou  hast  not  forsaken  Thy  Son, 
Thy  Christ,  unless  in  appearance  and  for  a  moment 
only;  so  Thou  wilt  not  abandon  for  ever  the  broth- 
ers of  Christ.  His  divine  blood,  which  has  redeem- 
ed them  from  the  bondage  of  the  Prince  of  this 


HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY 


100 


world,  will  also  redeem  tliem  from  the  bondage  of 
the  ministers  of  the  Prince  of  this  world.  Behold 
their  feet  and  their  hands  pierced,  their  side  pierced, 
their  head  covered  with  bloody  wounds.  In  the 
earth,  which  Thou  hadst  given  for  their  heritage,  a 
vast  sepulchre  has  been  dug  for  them,  and  they  have 
been  thrown  therein,  indiscriminately,  and  sealed 
has  been  the  stone  which  covers  it,  with  a  seal,  on 
which  in  mockery  has  been  engraved  Thy  holy 
name.  J  And  thus,  oh  Lord,  they  lie  there;  but  they 
will  not  lie  there  eternally.  Three  days  more,  and  the 
sacrilegious  seal  will  be  broken,  and  the  stone  will 
be  dashed  in  pieces,  and  those  who  sleep,  will 
awake,  and  the  reign  of  Christ,  which  is  justice  and 
fraternity,  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Spirit  of  God, 
will  commence.  So  be  it. 

XXVII. 

CHEIST  AND  THE  PEOPLE. 

WHO  thronged  around  Christ  to  hear  His  word? 
The  people. 

"Who  followed  Him  to  the  mountain  and  to  the 
desert  places  to  listen  to  His  teachings?:"  The 
people. 


CHRIST   AND    THE   PEOPLE.  101 

"Who  wished  to  make  choice  of  Him  for  king? 
The  people. 

Who  spread  their  garments  and  strewed  palm- 
branches  in  His  way,  crying  Hosanna,  when  He 
entered  Jerusalem?  The  people. 

Who  were  offended  because  of  the  sick  whom  He 
healed  on  a  sabbath-day?  The  scribes  and  the 
Pharisees. 

Who  questioned  Him  with  cunning,  and  laid 
snares  to  destroy  Him?  The  scribes  and  the  Phar- 
isees. 

Who  said  of  Him:  He  is  possessed?  Who  called 
Him  a  gluttonoiis  man  and  a  drinker  of  wine? 
The  scribes  and  the  Pharisees. 

Who  styled  Him:  leader  of  sedition  and  a  blas- 
phemer? who  conspired  against  Him  to  put  Him  to 
death?  who  crucified  Him  on  Calvary  between  two 
thieves? 

The  scribes  and  the  Pharisees,  the  doctors  of 
law,  Herod  the  king  and  his  courtiers,  the  Roman 
governor  and  the  chief  priests. 

Their  craft,  full  of  hypocrisy,  deceived  the  peo- 
ple themselves.  They  persuaded  them  to  ask  for 
the  death  of  Him,  who  had  fed  them  in  the  desert 
with  seven  loaves,  restored  health  to  the  sick, 


102 

sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the  deaf,  and  to  the 
lame  the  use  of  their  limbs. 

But  Jesus,  seeing  that  they  had  beguiled  the 
people,  as  the  serpent  beguiled  the  woman,  prayed 
His  Father,  saying:  Father,  forgive  them:  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do. 

And  yet,  during  eighteen  centuries,  the  Father 
has  not  forgiven  them,  and  they  bend  under  their 
punishment  over  the  whole  earth,  and  in  every 
part  of  the  earth,  the  slave  is  constrained  to  bow 
his  head  to  see  them. 

The  mercy  of  Christ  excludes  no  one.  He  came 
into  this  world  to  save  not  a  few  men,  but  all  men; 
He  has  had  for  each  of  them  a  drop  of  blood. 

But  the  small,  the  feeble,  the  meek,  the  poor,  all 
those  who  suffered,  He  loved  with  a  special  love. 

His  heart  beat  to  the  heart  of  the  people,  and  the 
heart  of  the  people  beat  to  His  heart. 

And  it  is  there,  on  the  heart  of  Christ,  that  the 
nations  sick  revive,  and  the  nations  oppressed 
receive  strength  to  become  free. 

"Woe  unto  those  who  forsake  Him,  who  deny 
Him !  Their  wretchedness  is  without  remedy,  and 
their  servitude  without  end. 


INTOLERANCE   OF   RELIGION.  103 

XXVIII. 

INTOLERANCE   OF   RELIGION. 

THE  time  has  been,  when  man  in  cutting  the 
throat  of  his  fellow,  whose  faith  differed  from  his 
own,  believed  that  he  offered  a  sacrifice,  agreeable 
to  God. 

Let  those  horrible  murders  be  an  abomination  to 

you. 

How  could  the  murder  of  man  be  pleasing  to 
God,  who  has  said  to  man:  Thou  shalt  not  kill? 

When  the  blood  of  man  flows  upon  the  earth,  as 
an  offering  to  God,  demons  run  to  drink  it,  and 
enter  into  him  who  has  spilled  it. 

One  commences  to  persecute  only  when  he  de- 
spairs of  convincing,  and  whoever  despairs  of  con- 
vincing, either  thinks  blasphemy  against  the  power 
of  truth,  or  believes  not  in  the  truth  of  the  doctrines 
which  he  teaches. 

What  is  more  insane  than  to  say  to  men:  Believe 
or  die! 

Faith  is  the  daughter  of  the  Word :  she  enters  into 
the  heart  with  persuasion,  and  not  with  the  dagger. 

Jesus  went  about,  doing  good,  attracting  by  His 


101 

kindness,  and  touching  with  His  sweetness  souls 
the  most  hardened. 

His  divine  lips  blessed  and  cursed  not.  unless  may 
be  the  hypocrites.  He  did  not  choose  executioners 
for  apostles. 

He  said  to  His  own:  Let  both  grow  together 
until  the  harvest,  the  good  and  the  bad  seed;  the 
householder  shall  make  the  separation  on  the  thrash- 
ing-floor. 

And  to  those  who  urged  Him  to  cause  fire  from 
heaven  to  descend  upon  a  city  of  unbelievers:  Ye 
know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of. 

The  spirit  of  Jesus  is  a  spirit  of  peace,  of  mercy 
and  of  love. 

Those  who  carry  on  persecution  in  His  name, 
who  search  conscience  with  the  sword,  who  torture 
the  body  to  convert  the  soul,  who  cause  tears  to 
flow,  instead  of  wiping  them  away:  such  have  not 
the  spirit  of  Jesus. 

"Woe  unto  him  who  profanes  the  Gospel,  making 
it  to  men  an  object  of  terror!  "Woe  unto  him  who 
writes  the  glad  tidings  on  a  page  in  blood! 

Remember  the  catacombs. 

In  that  time,  they  dragged  you  to  the  scaffold; 
they  gave  you  up  to  wild  beasts  in  the  amphitheatre 


INTOLERANCE   OF   RELIGION.  105 

to  amuse  the  rabble;  they  cast  you  by  thousands 
into  deep  mines  and  into  prisons;  they  confiscated 
your  goods;  they  trod  you  under  foot  like  the  mire 
of  the  streets;  you  had  where  to  celebrate  your 
proscribed  worship  no  other  asylum  than  the  bowels 
of  the  earth. 

What  said  your  persecutors?  They  said  that  you 
propagated  dangerous  teachings ;  that  your  sect,  as 
they  called  it,  disturbed  order  and  public  peace;  that 
you,  violators  of  law  and  enemies  of  mankind,  made 
the  empire  totter,  in  shattering  the  religion  of  the 
empire. 

And  in  this  distress,  under  this  oppression,  for 
what  did  you  ask?  liberty.  You  claimed  the  right 
of  obeying  only  God,  of  serving  Him,  and  of  wor- 
shipping Him,  according  to  your  conscience. 

"When,  although  mistaken  in  their  faith,  others 
shall  claim  of  you  this  sacred  right,  respect  it  in 
them,  even  as  you  demanded  the  heathens  to  respect 
it  in  you. 

Respect  it,  that  you  may  not  dishonor  the  mem- 
ory of  the  early  Christians,  and  may  not  defile  the 
ashes  of  your  martyrs. 

Persecution  is  two-edged:  it  wounds  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left. 


106 

If  you  are  forgetful  of  Christ's  teachings,  remem- 
ber the  catacombs. 

XXIX. 

THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

TREASURE  carefully  within  your  souls  justice  and 
fraternity;  they  will  be  your  safeguard  they  will 
destroy  from  among  you  discord  and  dissension. 

That  which  creates  discord  and  dissension,  that 
which  causes  the  suits  at  law  which  scandalize 
honest  men,  and  ruin  families,  is  before  all  niggardly 
self-interest,  the  insatiable  passion  of  acquiring  and 
of  possessing. 

Fight  therefore  without  ceasing  that  passion 
within  you,  which  Satan  constantly  arouses  there. 

What  can  you  carry  away  of  all  the  riches,  which 
you  shall  have  amassed  by  good  and  by  bad  means? 
Little  suffices  man,  who  lives  so  short  a  time. 

Another  cause  of  endless  dissension  is  bad  laws. 

Now,  there  are  but  few  laws  in  the  world,  other 
than  bad. 

"What  other  law  is  necessary  for  him,  who  has  the 
law  of  Christ? 

The  law  of  Christ  is  clear,  it  is  holy,  and  there  is 


THE   LAW   OF    CHRIST.  107 

no  person,  if  he  have  that  law  in  his  heart,  who 
judges  not  himself  easily. 

Listen  to  what  has  been  said  to  me: 

The  children  of  Christ,  if  they  have  among 
themselves  any  difference,  must  not  carry  it  before 
the  tribunals  of  those  who  oppress  the  earth  and 
who  corrupt  it. 

Are  there  not  aged  men  among  them  ?  and  are 
not  those  aged  men  their  fathers,  knowing  justice 
and  loving  it? 

Let  them  seek  then  one  of  those  aged  men,  and 
say  to  him :  Father,  we  have  not  been  able  to  agree, 
my  brother  here  and  I;  we  beseech  you,  judge  be- 
tween us. 

And  the  aged  man  will  listen  to  the  words  of 
each,  and  he  will  judge  between  them,  and  having 
judged,  he  will  bless  them. 

And  if  they  submit  to  that  judgment,  the  bless- 
ing will  abide  with  them:  if  not,  it  will  return  to 
the  aged  man,  who  shall  have  pronounced  the  just 
judgment. 

There  is  nothing  impossible  to  those  who  are 
united,  be  it  for  good,  be  it  for  evil.  The  day,  then, 
when  you  shall  be  united,  will  be  the  day  of  your 
deliverance. 


108 

When  the  children  of  Israel  were  oppressed  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  if  each,  forgetful  of  his  brother,  had 
wished  to  leave  alone,  no  one  of  them  wrould  have 
escaped;  they  all  departed  together,  and  nothing 
could  detain  them. 

You  are  also  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  bowed  down 
under  the  sceptre  of  Pharaoh  and  under  the  whip 
of  his  taskmasters.  Cry  unto  the  Lord,  your  God, 
and  thereupon  arise,  and  go  out  together. 

XXX. 

FATHER   AND   SON. 

FATHER,  labor  is  wearisome  to;day;  the  hoe  re- 
bounds from  the  parched  earth;  the  sun  darts  rays 
of  fire;  swept  by  the  wind  of  the  south,  the  dust 
whirls  over  the  plain. 

My  son,  He  who  sends  the  burning  blasts,  sends 
also  the  rain-clouds.  Each  day  has  its  sorrow  and 
its  hope,  and  after  toil,  rest. 

Father,  see  those  poor  plants,  how  they  languish, 
how  their  fading  leaves  droop  along  the  stalk,  bend- 
ing beneath  its  own  weight. 

They  will  revive,  my  son;  not  a  blade  of  grass 
is  forgotten;  there  is  always  for  it,  among  the  treas- 


FATHER   AND    SON.  109 

ures  of  heaven,  fertilizing  showers  and  refreshing 
dews. 

Father,  the  birds  are  silent  in  the  trees ;  the  quail, 
motionless  in  the  up-turned  furrow,  does  not  even 
call  his  mate;  the  heifer  seeks  the  shade,  and  the 
bull,  his  legs  bending  under  his  bulky  body,  his 
neck  extended,  dilates  his  large  nostrils  to  inhale 
the  air  which  he  needs. 

My  son,  God  will  restore  to  the  birds  their  voice, 
to  the  bulls  and  to  the  heifers  their  strength,  ex- 
hausted by  this  burning  heat.  Already,  across  the 
waters,  blows  the  breeze  which  will  reanimate  them. 

Father,  let  us  sit  down  upon  the  fern,  at  the  edge 
of  the  pond,  beside  that  aged  oak,  whose  hanging 
branches  touch  lightly  the  surface  of  the  water. 
How  calm  and  transparent  it  is!  How  merrily  the 
fishes  sport  there !  Some  pursue  their  winged  prey, 
poor  gnats  that  just  commenced  to  live;  others, 
raising  up  their  head,  seem  with  their  mouth  half 
open  to  give  the  air  a  light  kiss. 

My  son,  He  who  has  made  all  things,  has  distrib- 
uted everywhere  His  inexhaustible  gifts,  both  ex- 
istence and  the  joys  of  existence.  Evil  is  but  in 
appearance,  the  dark  side  of  love,  one  face  of  good, 
its  shadow. 


110 

Yet,  father,  what  toil,  what  hardships  you  suffer, 
that  you  may  provide  for  our  wants !  Are  you  not 
poor?  Is  mother  not  poor?  It  is  in  your  sweat 
that  I  have  been  nourished;  and  for  a  single  day 
have  you  been  free  from  anxiety  for  the  morrow? 

Why  think  of  the  morrow,  my  son?  To-morrow 
is  for  God;  let  us  put  our  trust  in  Him.  He  who 
rises  in  the  morning,  knows  not  if  he  shall  reach 
the  evening.  Why  then  be  troubled  and  uneasy 
about  a  time  which  perhaps  will  never  come?  We 
pass  here  below  like  the  swallow,  seeking  each  day 
a  daily  subsistence,  and  like  the  swallow,  when  win- 
ter comes,  a  mysterious  power  draws  us  to  climes 
more  mild. 

What  is  that,  father?  it  seems  like  a  dead  body 
wrapped  in  its  shroud,  or  a  babe  rolled  in  its  swad- 
dling-clothes ? 

My  son,  it  was  a  creeping  worm,  it  will  soon  be 
a  living  flower,  an  airy  form,  which,  spangled  with 
the  most  vivid  hues,  will  mount  toward  the  heavens. 

XXXI. 

THE  FKUIT   OF   SIN. 

THE  weather  was  sultry.  A  man  perceived  at  the 
base  of  a  hill  a  vine  loaded  with  grapes,  and  that 


THE   FBIJIT  OF  SIN.  Ill 

man  was  thirsty,  and  the  desire  came  upon  him  to 
quench  his  thirst  with  the  fruit  of  the  vine. 

But  between  it  and  him  was  spread  out  a  muddy 
swamp  which  must  be  passed  to  reach  the  hill,  and 
he  lacked  resolution. 

Yet,  his  thirst  urging,  he  said:  It  maybe  that 
the  mire  is  not  deep;  who  hinders  me  from  at- 
tempting what  so  many  others  have  done?  I  shall 
but  soil  my  shoes,  and  the  harm,  after  all,  will  not 
be  great. 

Thereupon,  he  steps  into  the  swamp,  his  foot 
sinks  into  the  foul  mud,  soon  he  sinks  as  far  as  his 
knee. 

He  stops,  he  hesitates,  he  asks  himself:  were  it 
not  better  to  return  again?  But  the  vine  and  its 
grapes  are  before  him  there,  and  he  feels  his  thirst 
increase. 

Since  I  have  gone  so  far,  why,  says  he,  should  I 
retrace  my  steps?  Wherefore  should  I  lose  my 
labor?  A  little  mud  more  or  less,  now,  makes  no 
difference.  Besides,  I  shall  only  be  put  to  the  trou- 
ble of  washing  in  the  first  brook. 

That  thought  decides  him ;  he  goes  forward,  he 
advances  farther,  sinking  always  deeper  and  deeper 
into  the  mire;  he  sinks  as  far  as  his  breast,  then  to 


112 

his  neck,  then  to  his  lips;  it  passes  finally  above 
his  head.  Smothering  and  gasping,  a  last  effort 
extricates  him  and  carries  him  to  the  foot  of  the  hill. 
Covered  over  with  black  slime,  which  runs  down 
his  limbs,  he  plucks  the  fruit  so  much  coveted,  he 
devours  it.  After  which,  ill  at  ease,  ashamed  of 
himself,  he  strips  off  his  clothing,  and  searches  on 
all  sides  for  clear  water  to  cleanse  himself.  But  all 
in  vain,  the  stench  remains;  the  exhalation  of  the 
swamp  has  penetrated  his  flesh  and  his  bones,  it 
exudes  from  him  continually  and  forms  around  him 
a  fetid  atmosphere.  If  he  approaches,  others  rush 
away.  People  shun  him.  He  has  made  himself  a 
reptile,  let  him  go  and  live  among  reptiles. 

XXXII. 

A   LESSON   FROM   THE    SWALLOWS. 

ALL  nature  teaches  us  the  indispensable  need, 
in  which  we  stand  the  one  of  the  other;  the  divine 
precept,  'of  mutual  assistance,  of  self-sacrifice  and 
love  is  incessantly  called  to  our  minds  by  what  we 
observe  around  us:  When  the  time  has  come  for 
them  to  go  and  look  in  other  climates  for  the  food, 
which  the  Father  in  heaven  has  there  prepared  for 


MAN,  HIS   PAST,    PRESENT   AND    FUTURE.          113 

them,  the  swallows  flock  together.  From  that  time, 
never  once  separating,  little  mariners  of  the  air, 
they  take  their  flight  for  the  shore,  where  they  will 
rest  in  peace  and  abundance.  Starting  each  for  it- 
self alone,  what  would  become  of  them?  Not  one 
would  escape  the  perils  of  the  road;  united,  they 
resist  the  winds;  the  feeble  or  fatigued  wing  leans 
against  one  that  is  stronger.  Poor,  sweet,  little 
creatures,  which  last  spring  saw  come  to  light,  the 
youngest-born,  protected  by  the  elder  ones,  reach 
under  their  guard  the  term  of  their  voyage,  and 
on  the  far-distant  shore,  where  Providence  has 
guided  them  beyond  the  sea,  they  dream  of  their 
native  nest  and  its  first  joys — those  mysterious, 
inexpressible  joys,  which  God,  for  all  His  beings, 
has  placed  at  the  entrance  of  life. 

XXXIII. 

MAN,  HIS  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE. 

And  I  had  seen  the  evils  which  were  on  earth, 
the  feeble  oppressed,  the  righteous  begging  his 
bread,  the  wicked  raised  to  honors  and  rolling  in 
wealth,  the  innocent  condemned  by  iniquitous 
judges,  and  their  children  wandering  under  the  sun. 
8 


114 

And  my  soul  was  sad,  and  hope  escaped  from  it 
on  all  sides,  as  from  a  broken  vase. 

And  God  wrapped  me  in  profound  sleep. 

And  in  my  sleep,  I  saw  like  a  luminous  shape, 
standing  near  me,  a  Spirit,  whose  sweet  and  pierc- 
ing gaze  penetrated  even  to  the  bottom  of  my  most 
secret  thoughts. 

And  I  trembled,  not  in  fear,  nor  in  joy,  but  from 
a  feeling  which  seemed,  as  it  were,  a  strange  mix- 
ture of  both. 

And  the  Spirit  said  to  me:    "Why  are  you  sad? 

And  weeping,  I  answered  him:  Oh!  behold  the 
evils  which  are  on  the  earth. 

And  the  celestial  form  smiled  with  an  ineffable 
smile,  and  these  words  came  to  my  ear:  • 

Your  eye  sees  nothing  but  through  this  deceitful 
medium,  which  creatures  call  time.  Time  is  only 
for  you:  for  God  there  is  no  time. 

And  I  remained  silent,  for  I  understood  not. 

Look,  said  the  Spirit  suddenly. 

And,  without  there  existing  thenceforth  for  me 
either  before  or  after,  in  the  same  instant,  I  saw  at 
once,  what  in  their  infirm  and  feeble  language  men 
call  time,  past,  present  and  future. 

And  they  were  all  one,  and  yet,  in  telling  what  I 


MAN,  HIS   PAST,  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE.          115 

saw,  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  descend  again  to  the 
limits  of  time,  I  must  speak  the  infirm  and  feeble 
language  of  men. 

And  the  whole  human  race  seemed  to  me  as  one 
man. 

And  that  man  had  done  much  evil,  little  good, 
had  known  many  sorrows,  few  joys. 

And  he  was  there,  groveling  in  his  wretchedness, 
on  a  plain,  now  frozen,  now  burning  hot,  ema- 
ciated, starving,  suffering,  oppressed  by  alternate 
languor  and  convulsions,  loaded  with  chains,  forged 
in  the  abode  of  demons. 

His  right  hand  had  wrapped  them  around  his 
left  hand,  and  the  left  hand  had  loaded  the  right, 
and  during  his  terrible  dreams,  he  had  so  entangled 
himself  in  his  fetters,  that  his  whole  body  was  cov- 
ered and  distorted  by  them. 

For  whenever  they  simply  touched  him,  they 
clung  to  his  skin  like  molten  lead,  they  entered  into 
his  flesh,  and  remained  there. 

And  such  was  man ;  I  knew  him. 

And,  behold!  a  ray  of  Light  proceeded  from  the 
East,  and  a  ray  of  Love  from  the  South,  and  a  ray 
of  Strength  from  the  North. 

And  these  three  rays,  united,  touched  on  the  heart 
of  that  man. 


116 

And  as  the  ray  of  Light  came  forth,  a  voice  said: 
Son  of  God,  brother  of  Christ,  know  what  thou 
shouldst  know. 

And  as  the  raj  of  Love  came  forth,  a  voice  said : 
Son  of  God,  brother  of  Christ,  love  whom  thou 
shouldst  love. 

And  as  the  ray  of  Strength  came  forth,  a  voice 
said :  Son  of  God,  brother  of  Christ,  do  what  should 
be  done. 

And  when  the  three  rays  were  united,  the  three 
voices  were  united  also,  and  they  formed  a  single 
voice,  which  said: 

Son  of  God,  brother  of  Christ,  serve  God,  and 
serve  Him  alone. 

And  then,  what  had  hitherto  seemed  to  me  as 
one  man,  appeared  to  be  a  multitude  of  peoples 
and  of  nations. 

And  my  first  look  had  not  deceived  me,  nor  did 
my  second  deceive  me. 

And  those  peoples  and  nations,  awaking  on  their 
bed  of  agony,  commenced  to  say  among  themselves: 

Whence  come  our  sufferings  and  our  languor, 
and  the  hunger  and  the  thirst  which  torment  us, 
and  the  chains  which  weigh  us  down  to  the  earth, 
and  enter  into  our  flesh? 


MAN,  HIS   PAST,  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE.         117 

And  their  mind  was  enlightened,  and  they  under- 
stood that  the  sons  of  God,  the  brothers  of  Christ, 
had  not  been  condemned  by  their  Father  to  slavery, 
and  that  this  slavery  was  the  source  of  all  their 
evils. 

Each  then  attempted  to  break  his  fetters,  but  no 
one  succeeded. 

And  they  looked  at  one  another  with  mutual 
pity,  and  love  working  in  them,  they  said  to  one 
another:  We  have  all  the  same  thought,  why  should 
we  not  all  have  the  same  heart?  Are  we  not  all 
sons  of  the  same  God,  and  brothers  of  the  same 
Christ?  Let  us  free  one  another,  or  die  together. 

And  having  thus  spoken,  they  felt  within  them- 
selves a  strength  divine,  and  I  heard  their  fetters 
crack,  and  they  battled  six  days  against  those  who 
held  them  in  chains,  and  the  sixth  day  they  were 
victorious,  and  the  seventh  was  a  day  of  rest. 

And  the  earth,  which  was  dry,  became  green 
again,  and  all  could  eat  of  its  fruits,  and  go  and 
come,  without  any  person  saying  to  them:  Whither 
do  you  go?  no  one  passes  here. 

And  the  little  children  culled  flowers,  and  brought 
them  to  their  mothers,  who  smiled  on  them  ten- 
derly. 


118 

And  there  were  neither  poor  nor  rich,  but  all 
had  in  abundance  the  things,  necessary  to  their 
wants,  because  all  loved  and  assisted  one  another 
as  brothers. 

And  a  voice,  like  the  voice  of  an  angel,  resounded 
through  the  heavens:  Glory  to  God,  who  has  given 
Intellect,  Love  and  Strength  to  His  children !  Glory 
to  Christ,  who  has  restored  to  His  brothers  Liberty ! 

XXXIV. 

THE   EEIGN    OF   SATAN. 

AND  I  was  transported  in  spirit  to  ancient  times, 
and  the  earth  was  beautiful,  and  rich,  and  fertile; 
and  its  inhabitants  lived  happy,  because  they  lived 
as  brothers. 

And  I  saw  the  Serpent,  which  crawled  among 
them:  he  fastened  on  many  his  potent  gaze,  and 
their  soul  was  troubled,  and  they  approached  him, 
and  the  Serpent  whispered  in  their  ear. 

And  after  having  listened  to  the  whisper  of  the 
Serpent,  they  rose  up  and  said:  We  are  kings. 

And  the  sun  grew  pale,  and  the  earth  took  on  a 
funereal  hue,  like  that  of  the  shroud  which  enwraps 
the  dead. 


THE   KEIGN   OF    SATAN.  119 

And  there  was  heard  a  dull  murmuring,  a  long 
lamentation,  and  the  heart  of  each  trembled. 

Yerilj,  I  say  unto  you,  it  was  like  the  day,  when 
the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  were  broken  up,  and 
when  the  deluge  of  the  great  waters  spread  itself 
abroad. 

Fear  ran  from  hut  to  hut,  for  as  yet  there  were 
no  palaces,  and  in  secret  it  spoke  to  each  things, 
which  made  him  shudder. 

And  those  who  had  said:  We  are  kings,  seized 
a  sword,  and  followed  Fear  from  hut  to  hut. 

And  strange  mysteries  took  place  there;  and 
there  were  chains,  tears  and  blood. 

The  men,  terrified,  cried  aloud:  Murder  has 
appeared  again  on  earth.  And  this  was  all,  because 
Fear  had  benumbed  their  courage  and  paralyzed 
their  arms. 

And  they  suffered  themselves  to  be  loaded  with 
chains,  themselves,  and  their  wives,  and  their  chil- 
dren. And  those  who  had  said:  We  are  kings,  dug 
out  a  pit,  like  a  great  cavern,  and  in  it  they  confined 
the  whole  human  race,  even  as  one  shuts  up  animals 
in  a  stable. 

And  the  tempest  swept  the  clouds  onward,  and 
the  thunder  rolled,  and  I  heard  a  voice  which  said: 


120  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

The  Serpent  has  conquered  a  second  time,  but  not 
for  always. 

After  that,  I  heard  nothing  more  but  confused 
voices,  laughter,  groans  and  blasphemies. 

And  I  knew  that  there  must  be  a  reign  of  Satan, 
before  the  reign  of  God.  And  I  wept,  and  I  had 
hope. 

And  the  vision  which  I  saw,  was  true,  for  the 
reign  of  Satan  is  accomplished,  and  the  reign  of 
God  will  be  accomplished  also,  and  those  who  have 
said:  "We  are  kings,  will  be  in  their  turn  confined 
in  the  cavern  with  the  Serpent,  and  the  human 
race  will  come  forth  from  it,  and  it  will  be  for  them 
like  a  new  birth,  like  the  passage  from  death  to  life. 
So  let  it  be. 

XXXY. 

THE   WAR   BETWEEN   CAPITAL   AND   LABOR. 

EVERY  thing  that  takes  place  in  this  world,  is  pre- 
ceded by  an  omen. 

When  the  sun  is  about  to  rise,  the  horizon  is 
tinged  with  a  thousand  shades,  and  the  East  appears 
on  fire. 

When  the  tempest  comes,  a  dull  roar  is  heard  on 
the  shore,  and  the  waves  are  as  if  self-tossed. 


THE    WAR   BETWEEN    CAPITAL    AND   LABOR.      121 

The  thoughts  numberless  and  diverse,  which 
meet  and  mingle  at  the  horizon  of  the  spiritual 
world,  are  the  omen  which  announces  the  rising  of 
the  sun  of  intelligence. 

The  confused  murmur  and  the  internal  workings 
of  the  people  in  excitement  are  the  omen,  preceding 
the  tempest  which  will  soon  pass  over  the  quaking 
nations. 

Be  ye  therefore  ready,  for  the  time  is  at  hand. 

In  that  day,  there  will  be  great  terror,  and  cries 
such  as  have  not  been  heard  since  the  days  of  the 
deluge. 

The  kings  will  shriek  upon  their  thrones;  with 
both  hands  they  will  seek  to  retain  their  crowns 
from  being  blown  away  by  the  winds,  and  with 
their  crowns  they  themselves  will  be  swept  away. 

The  rich  and  the  powerful  will  flee  naked  from 
their  palaces,  for  fear  of  being  buried  under  the  ruins. 

They  will  be  seen,  wandering  on  the  highways, 
begging  the  passers-by  for  rags  to  cover  their  nak- 
edness, and  for  a  crust  of  bread  to  appease  their 
hunger,  and  I  know  not  that  they  will  obtain  it. 

And  there  will  be  men,  who  shall  be  seized  with 
thirst  for  blood,  and  who  will  worship  death,  and 
who  wTill  advocate  its  worship. 


122  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

And  death  will  stretch  forth  his  bony  hand  as  if 
to  bless  them,  and  that  benediction  will  fall  upon 
their  heart,  and  it  will  cease  to  beat. 

And  the  wise  will  grow  troubled  in  their  wisdom, 
and  it  will  seem  to  them  as  a  small  spot  of  darkness, 
when  the  sun  of  intelligence  shall  arise. 

And  in  proportion  as  it  ascends,  its  warmth  will 
melt  away  the  clouds,  heaped  up  by  the  tempest; 
and  they  will  be  only  as  a  thin  vapor,  which  the 
zephyrs  chase  toward  the  "West. 

Never  will  the  sky  have  been  so  serene,  nor  the 
earth  so  green  and  so  fertile. 

And  instead  of  the  feeble  twilight  that  we  call 
day,  a  light  strong  and  pure  will  shine  on  high,  like 
a  reflection  from  the  face  of  God. 

And  in  that  light  men  will  behold  themselves, 
and  will  say:  We  knew  neither  ourselves,  nor  our 
neighbors ;  we  had  no  idea  of  man.  Now,  we  know. 

And  each  in  his  brother  will  love  himself,  and 
find  his  happiness  in  serving  him ;  and  there  will 
be  neither  small  nor  great,  because  of  the  love 
which  makes  all  equal,  and  all  families  will  be  as 
one  family,  and  all  nations  as  one  nation. 

This  is  the  reading  of  the  mystic  letters,  which 
the  Jews  in  their  blindness  affixed  to  the  cross  of 
Christ. 


THE   SECOND   COMING  OF   CHKIST.  123 

XXXYI. 

THE   SECOND   COMING   OF   CHRIST. 

LISTEN  attentively,  and  tell  me  whence  comes 
this  confused  sound,  vague  and  strange,  which  is 
heard  on  all  sides. 

Place  your  hand  on  the  earth,  and  tell  me  why  it 
trembles. 

Something,  we  know  not  what,  moves  in  the 
world:  a  travail  of  God  is  going  on  there. 

Is  every  one  not  in  expectation?  Is  there  one 
heart  that  does  not  beat? 

Child  of  man,  mount  the  heights,  and  tell  what 
you  see. 

I  see  in  the  horizon  a  livid  cloud,  and  around  it 
a  red  light,  like  the  reflection  of  a  fire. 

Child  of  man,  what  do  you  see  more? 

I  see  the  ocean  toss  its  waves,  and  the  mountains 
shake  their  peaks. 

I  see  the  rivers  change  their  course,  the  hills  tot- 
ter, and  in  falling  fill  the  valleys. 

Every  thing  reels,  every  thing  moves,  every  thing 
takes  on  a  new  appearance. 

Child  of  man,  what  more  do  you  see? 


124:  THE    POOK   MAN?S   GOSPEL. 

I  see  whirlwinds  of  dust  in  the  distance,  and 
they  sweep  in  all  directions,  and  they  rush  together, 
and  mingle,  and  are  lost  in  each  other.  They  pass 
over  the  cities,  and  when  they  have  passed,  they 
leave  naught  but  a  plain. 

I  see  the  nations  rise  in  tumult,  and  the  kings 
grow  pale  'neath  their  diadem.  There  is  war 
between  them,  a  war  unto  death. 

I  see  a  throne,  two  thrones,  broken  in  pieces,  and 
the  nations  scatter  the  fragments  over  the  earth. 

I  see  a  nation  battle,  as  the  archangel  Michael  bat- 
tled against  Satan.  Its  blows  are  terrible,  but  it  is 
naked,  and  its  enemy  is  covered  with  massive  armor. 

Oh  God!  it  falls;  it  is  stricken  to  death.  No,  it 
is  only  wounded.  Mary,  the  Virgin- Mother,  wraps 
it  up  in  her  cloak,  smiles  on  it,  and  carries  it  away 
for  a  time  out  of  the  battle. 

I  see  another  nation  struggle  without  cessation, 
and  revive  from  time  to  time  its  strength  in  that 

O 

struggle.  That  nation  has  the  sign  of  Christ  on  its 
heart. 

I  see  a  third  nation,  on  which  six  kings  have 
placed  their  foot,  and  every  time  it  moves,  six 
poniards  are  plunged  into  its  throat. 

I  see  over  a  vast  building,  very  high  in  the  air, 


THE    SECOND   COMING    OF   CHRIST.  125 

a  cross  which  I  can  scarcely  distinguish,  because  it 
is  covered  with  a  black  veil. 

Child  of  man,  what  else  do  you  see?  . 

I  see  the  Orient,  which  is  troubled  in  itself.  It 
sees  its  ancient  palaces  crumble,  its  old  temples 
fall  to  dust,  and  it  raises  its  eyes  as  if  in  search  of 
other  grandeurs  and  another  God. 

I  see  towards  the  Occident  a  woman  with  proud 
eye,  with  serene  brow;  she  traces  with  firm  hand  a 
light  furrow,  and  wherever  the  plowshare  passes,  I 
see  human  generations  spring  up,  who  invoke  her 
in  their  prayers,  and  bless  her  in  their  songs. 

I  see  in  the  North  men  who  have  nothing  but  a 
remnant  of  warmth,  concentrated  in  their  brain,  and 
which  intoxicates  it;  but  Christ  touches  them  with 
His  cross,  and  the  heart  commences  to  beat  again. 

I  see  in  the  South  races,  overwhelmed  in  I  know 
not  what  curse:  a  heavy  yoke  weighs  them  down, 
they  walk  bent  over;  but  Christ  touches  them  with 
His  cross,  and  they  rise  erect. 

Child  of  man,  what  more  do  you  see? 

He  answers  not;  let  us  cry  again. 

Child  of  man,  what  do  you  see? 

I  see  Satan  who  flees,  and  Christ,  surrounded 
with  His  angels,  who  comes  to  reign. 


126 


XXXVII. 

THE    MIGHTY   OF    EAETH. 

I  SAW  a  beech  raise  aloft  its  head  to  a  wondrous 
height.  From  its  summit  nearly  to  its  root,  it 
threw  out  enormous  branches,  which  so  overshad- 
owed the  earth  on  all  sides,  that  it  was  barren ;  not 
a  single  blade  of  grass  would  grow  there.  At  the 
foot  of  the  forest-giant  -sprang  up  an  oak  which, 
after  growing  up  a  few  feet,  bent  over,  twisted 
itself,  grew  out  horizon  tally,  then  rose  again  and 
twisted  itself  anew ;  and  finally  it  was  seen  stretch- 
ing forth  its  sickly  and  leafless  head  from  beneath 
the  vigorous  branches  of  the  beech,  in  search  of  a 
little  air  and  a  little  light. 

And  to  myself  I  thought:  thus  grow  the  small 
in  the  shadow  of  the  great. 

Who4  gather  around  the  powerful  of  the  world? 
Who  draw  near  them?  not  the  poor  man;  they 
drive  him  away :  his  appearance  would  oifend  their 
eyes.  With  care  they  banish  him  from  their 
presence  and  from  their  palaces ;  they  permit  him 
not  even  to  pass  through  their  parks,  open  to  all, 
except  him,  because  his  body,  worn  with  toil,  is  clad 
in  the  garments  of  poverty. 


THE  PERSECUTION  OF  TRUTH.         127 

Who  then  gather  around  the  powerful  of  the 
world?  the  rich  and  the  flatterers  who  desire  power, 
the  degraded  women,  the  infamous  panders  of  their 
private  pleasures,  the  ballet-dancers,  the  buffoons 
who  lull,  and  the  false  prophets  who  delude  their 
conscience. 

Who  besides?  the  violent,  the  crafty,  the  agents 
of  oppression,  the  nsnrers,  all  those  who  saj:  De- 
liver to  us  the  people,  and  we  will  pour  their  gold 
into  your  coffers  and  their  substance  into  your  veins. 

Where  lies  the  carcass,  there  the  vultures  will 
gather. 

The  little  birds  build  their  nest  in  the  grass,  and 
the  birds  of  prey  in  lofty  trees. 

XXXYIII. 

THE    PERSECUTION   OF   TRUTH. 

THEY  have  said  among  themselves:  We  will 
destroy  Good,  we  will  smother  its  germ,  even  in 
the  depths  of  souls.  And  if  any  one  soever  dare 
raise  his  voice  to  defend  it,  to  recall  to  man  the 
memory  of  it,  we  will  incarcerate  him  in  our  dun- 
geons like  a  criminal,  for  we  have  the  power,  or  we 
will  unchain  upon  him  the  famished  pack  which 


128 

guard  the  portals  of  the  temple  of  Evil,  which,  for 
the  morsel  of  bread,  thrown  before  them  in  the 
dirt,  vomit  outrage  and  falsehood. 

Fools!  and  should  you  do  to-day,  what  death 
will  do  to-morrow,  would  •  you  have  thereby  con- 
quered? The  Good,  is  it  man?  I  am  the  Good, 
says  the  Lord  God. 

When  the  Just  One,  nailed  to  the  cross,  expired 
between  two  thieves,  the  powerful  of  that  time,  the 
politicians,  the  hypocrites,  those  who  devoured  the. 
people,  as  one  devours  a  piece  of  bread,  believed  it 
a  triumph.  The  following  day,  the  echoes,  from 
one  extremity  of  the  earth  to  the  other,  sent  back 
a  cry  of  salvation,  issuing  from  the  tomb  of  the 

Crucified  One. 

\ 

XXXIX. 

THE  EIGHTS  OF   THE   PEOPLE   AND    WHAT    HAS    BECOME 
OF  THEM. 

TELL  me,  oh  People!  what  has  become  of  thy 
right  in  this  world?  fell  me  what  thy  wretched 
life,  so  overcharged  with  labor,  was  in  the  days  of 
old,  and  still  is? 

Slave  in  former  times,  afterward  serf  during  long 


PEOPLE'S  EIGHTS,  WHAT  HAS  BECOME  OF  THEM.  129 

centuries,  always  oppressed,  preyed  upon  always, 
like  unto  the  meadow  which  is  cropped  in  spring, 
and  left  a  prey  to  another  ravenous  tooth  in  autumn, 
what  benefit  hast  thou  reaped  from  what  has  mock- 
ingly been  called  thy  ENFRANCHISEMENT? 

Wherefore  draggest  thou  thyself  along  with  so 
much  pain  over  this  earth,  devised  to  all  men  in 
common,  and  over  which  all  should  have  dominion  ? 

Wherefore  in  the  midst  of  productions,  which  it 
offers  spontaneously,  and  which  thy  labor[rnultiplies, 
dost  thou  so  often  groan  in  the  anguish  of  hunger? 

Wherefore  hast  thou  no  shelter,  neither  against 
the  frozen  blasts  of  winter,  nor  against  the  scorch- 
ing heat  of  the  sun  in  summer? 

Wherefore  wantest  thou  clothing  to  cover  thy 
emaciated  limbs,  and  a  shroud  to  inwrap  them, 
when  they  are  thrown  into  the  Potter's  field,  to  rest 
for  the  first  time? 

When  the  rain  falls  from  the  clouds,  it  refreshes 
and  revives  the  humblest  plant,  hidden  in  the  cor- 
ner of  the  valley,  as  well  as  the  tree  on  the  moun- 
tain-top, which  raises  its  stately  head  toward  heaven, 
and  stretches  forth  its  powerful  branches  in  defiance 
to  the  storm. 

Wherefore,   uneasy   about  to-day,  and  anxious 
9 


130 

about  to-morrow,  do  the  domestic  joys  turn  for  tliee 
into  bitter  cares?  At  the  table,  where  it  is  the  will 
of  the  common  Father  that  all  His  children  should 
sit  down,  why  is  thy  cup  never  filled  but  with 
muddy  wine? 

From  tenderest  infancy,  absorbed  in  manual 
labor,  at  the  cost  of  how  much  sacrifice,  dost  thou 
reap  even  a  few  feeble  rays  of  the  light  which 
nourishes  the.  mind?  Why  does  not  the  star  of 
science  appear  above  the  horizon  of  the  gloomy 
world,  whither  thou  art  banished? 

Our  life  on  earth,  undoubtedly,  cannot  be  exempt 
from  pain.  "Want,  suffering  even,  as  they  stimu- 
late our  activity,  are  a  condition  of  the  common 
progress.  "Without  question  too,  although  equals 
in  right,  all  men  do  not  possess  equal  faculties,  are 
not  all  born  under  circumstances  equally  favorable 
to  the  development  of  those  faculties,  and  that 
inequality  (whence  result,  with  different  inclina- 
tions, particular  aptitudes  for  the  various  functions, 
implied  by  the  existence  of  society)  contributes  to 
the  general  welfare. 

But  in  that  welfare,  all  must  have  a  share,  and 
we  could  not  even  call  it  the  general  welfare,  if  it 
were  not  the  well-being  of  the  greater  number,  the 


PEOPLE'S  EIGHTS,  WHAT  HAS  BECOME  OF  THEM.  131 

well-being  of  the  people,  and  not  of  a  few  individ- 
uals, or  of  a  few  classes  only.  In  fact,  if  one  man 
rolled  in  riches,  all  the  others  remaining  poor, 
would  you  call  his  wealth  the  GENERAL  wealth? 

Now,  almost  universally,  the  possession  of  the 
blessings,  destined  by  nature  to  all,  has  been  the 
exclusive  allotment  of  a  few,  who  holding  the  peo- 
ple under  their  subjection,  and  forgetful  of  the* 
sentiment  which  brother  owes  to  brother,  have 
treated  them  like  animals,  which  during  the  day 
are  put  to  the  plough,  and  into  whose  stable  at 
night  is  thrown  a  handful  of  straw. 

But  you  should  know  and  well  consider  this: — 
When  the  excess  of  suffering  inspires  you  with  the 
resolution  to  recover  the  rights  of  which  your 
oppressors  have  robbed  you,  you  are  accused  of  dis- 
turbing the  order  and  treated  like  rebels.  Rebels 
against  whom?  There  is  no  rebellion  possible  but 
against  the  real  sovereign,  against  the  people,  and 
how  is  it  possible  that  the  people  should  rebel 
against  themselves?  The  rebels  are  those  who  cre- 
ate themselves  iniquitous  privileges  at  their  ex- 
pense; those  who,  either  by  craft  or  strength,  suc- 
ceed in  subjecting  them  to  their  domination;  and 
when  the  people  shake  off  that  domination,  they 


132 

do  not  disturb  the  order,  but  re-establish  it,  and 
accomplish  the  work  of  God  and  His  will,  which 
is  always  just. 

XL. 

THE   LEGACY   TO    OUR   CHILDREN. 

You  need  much  patience  and  a  courage  which 
grows  not  weary:  for  you  will  not  conquer  in  a  day. 

Liberty  is  the  bread  which  the  people  must  earn 
in  the  sweat  of  their  brow. 

Many  start  with  ardor,  and  then  become  dis- 
heartened, before  having  reached  the  time  of  the 
harvest. 

They  are  like  those  men,  weak  and  indolent,  who 
not  being  able  to  endure  the  toil  of  clearing  from 
their  fields  the  weeds  from  time  to  time,  as  they 
grow,  sow  and  do  not  reap,  because  they  have  suf- 
fered the  good  seed  to  be  choked. 

I  say  unto  you,  there  is  always  great  want  in  that 
country. 

Again,  they  are  like  those  foolish  men  who,  hav- 
ing builded  as  far  as  the  top  a  home  in  which  to 
dwell,  neglect  to  roof  it,  because  they  are  afraid  of 
a  little  more  fatigue. 

The  winds  and  the  rains  come,  and  the  house  falls, 


THE  LEGACY  TO  OUR  CHILDREN.       133 

and  those  who  had  erected  it,  are  suddenly  buried 
beneath  its  ruins. 

If  even  your  expectations  may  have  been  disap- 
pointed not  only  seven  times,  but  seventy  times 
seven,  never  lose  hope. 

When  a  man  has  faith  in  it,  the  just  cause  always 
triumphs,  and  that  man  succeeds  who  perseveres 
even  to  the  end. 

Say  not:  The  suffering  is  too  great  for  blessings 
which  will  come  only  late. 

If  those  blessings  come  late,  if  you  enjoy  them 
but  a  short  time,  or  even  if  it  be  not  given  unto 
you  to  enjoy  them  at  all,  your  children  will  enjoy 
them,  and  your  children's  children. 

They  will  have  only  what  you  bequeath  them: 
consider  then  whether  you  wish  to  leave  them 
scourges  and  chains,  and  hunger  for  a  heritage. 

He  who  asks  himself:  of  what  value  is  justice? 
denies  justice  in  his  heart;  and  he  who  calculates 
the  price  of  liberty,  renounces  liberty  in  his  heart. 

Liberty  and  justice  will  weigh  you  in  the  same 
balance,  wherein  you  shall  weigh  them.  Learn 
then  to  understand  their  worth. 

There  are  nations  who  have  known  it  not,  and  no 
wretchedness  ever  equalled  their  wretchedness. 


134: 

If  there  is  on  earth  anything  sublime,  it  is  the 
firm  resolution  of  a  people  who  march,  under  the 
eye  of  God,  without  growing  weary  an  instant,  to 
the  conquest  of  the  rights  which  they  hold  from 
Him ;  who  number  neither  their  wounds,  nor  their 
days  without  rest,  nor  their  nights  without  sleep, 
and  who  to  themselves  say:  Of  what  account  are 
these?  Justice  and  liberty  are  well  worth  greater  toil. 

That  people  may  suffer  misfortunes,  reverses, 
treachery,  they  may  be  sold  by  some  Judas.  Let 
nothing  dishearten  them. 

For,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  even  should  they 
descend  like  Christ  into  the  tomb,  they  like  Christ 
would  arise  on  the  third  day,  conquerors  of  death, 
and  of  the  Prince  of  the  world,  and  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Prince  of  the  world. 

XLI. 

LIBERTY    AND   JUSTICE. 

THE  ploughman  bears  the  burden  of  the  day, 
exposes  himself  to  the  rain,  to  the  sun,  to  the  winds, 
to  make  ready  by  his  labor  for  the  harvest,  which 
will  fill  his  granaries  in  autumn. 

Justice  is  the  harvest  of  nations. 


LIBERTY   AND   JUSTICE.  135 

The  artisan  arises  before  the  break  of  day,  lights 
his  small  lamp,  and  toils  without  ceasing  to  earn 
the  morsel  of  bread  which  sustains  him  and  his 
children. 

Justice  is  the  bread  of  nations. 

The  merchant  hesitates  at  no  labor,  complains  of 
no  fatigue;  he  wastes  his  body  and  forgets  his  sleep, 
in  amassing  wealth. 

Liberty  is  the  wealth  of  nations. 

The  sailor  ploughs  the  seas,  risks  himself  on  the 
waves  and  in  tempests,  hazards  himself  amid  shoals, 
endures  cold  and  heat,  to  secure  for  himself  some 
repose  in  his  old  age.  • 

Liberty  is  the  repose  of  nations. 

The  soldier  submits  to  most  cruel  privations,  he 
keeps  watch  and  fights,  and  sheds  his  blood  for 
what  he  calls  glory. 

Liberty  is  the  glory  of  nations. 

If  there  is  a  nation  which  esteems  justice  and 
liberty  less,  than  the  ploughman  his  harvest,  the 
artisan  his  morsel  of  bread,  the  merchant  his  wealth, 
the  sailor  his  repose  and  the  soldier  his  glory;  raise 
around  that  nation  a  high  waU,  that  its  breath  may 
not  infect  the  rest  of  the  earth. 

When  shall  come  to  the  nations  the  great  day  of 


136 

their  judgment,  unto  it  will  be  said:  What  hast 
thou  done  with  thy  soul?  no  sign  nor  trace  of  it  has 
been  discovered.  The  pleasures  of  the  brute  only 
have  been  thine.  Thou  hast  loved  the  mire,  go, 
wallow  in  it. 

And,  on  the  contrary,  the  nation  which,  above  all 
material  benefits,  shall  have  given  place  in  its  heart 
to  the  true  blessings;  which,  to  attain  them,  shall 
have  spared  no  toil,  no  fatigue,  no  sacrifice,  will 
hear  these  words: 

To  those  who  have  a  soul,  be  the  soul's  recom- 
pense. Because  thou  hast  loved,  beyond  all  things, 
liberty  and  justice,  come  and  enjoy  forever  justice 
and  liberty. 

XLII. 

THE    SLAVE    AND   THE    FKEEMAN. 

THIXKEST  thou  that  the  ox  which  is  fed  in  the 
stall  to  labor  under  the  yoke,  and  which  is  fattened 
for  the  shambles,  is  more  to  be  envied  than  the  bull 
that  seeks  in  freedom  his  food  in  the  forest? 

Thinkest  thou  that  the  horse  which  is  saddled  and 
bridled,  and  which  has  always  plenty  of  hay  in  his 
rack,  enjoys  a  lot,  preferable  to  that  of  the  stallion 


THE    SLAVE   AND    THE    FKEEMAN.  137 

who,  freed  from  all  restraint,  neighs  and  bounds 
over  the  plain? 

Thinkest  thou  that  the  fowl,  to  which  is  flung 
grain  in  the  poultry -yard,  is  more  happy  than  the 
wood-pigeon  which  at  morn  knows  not  where  it 
shall  find  its  food  for  the  day? 

Thinkest  thou  that  he  who  saunters  at  leisure 
through  one  of  those  parks  which  are  called  em- 
pires, leads  a  life  more  sweet  than  the  exile  who, 
from  forest  to  forest  and  from  range  to  mountain- 
range,  sets  out  with  his  heart  full  of  hope  to  create 
a  fatherland? 

Thinkest  thou  that  the  stupid  serf,  sitting  at  the 
table  of  his  lord,  relishes  the  exquisite  dishes  better, 
than  the  soldier  of  liberty  his  crust  of  bread? 

Thinkest  thou  that  he  who  falls  asleep  with  the 
slave's  collar  around  his  neck,  upon  the  straw  which 
his  master  has  thrown  down  for  him,  enjoys  sweeter 
sleep  than  he  who,  after  having  fought  during  the  day 
to  free  himself  from  every  master,  rests  a  few  hours 
at  night,  on  the  earth,  in  the  corner  of  an  open  field? 

Thinkest  thou  that  the  poltroon,  who  everywhere 
trails  the  chain  of  slavery,  is  less  burdened  than  the 
man  of  courage  who  bears  the  shackles  of  the  pris- 
oner? 


138 

Thinkest  thou  that  the  timid  man  who  expires 
in  his  bed,  suffocated  by  the  impure  air  which  sur- 
rounds tyranny,  dies  a  death  more  desirable  than 
the  undaunted  man  who,  upon  the  scaffold,  renders 
to  God  a  soul,  free,  as  he  received  it  from  Him? 

Labor  is  everywhere  and  suffering  everywhere: 
yet,  there  are  barren  labors  and  fruitful  labors,  infa- 
mous sufferings  and  glorious  sufferings. 

XLIIL 

THE  TWO  IDOLS. 

IF  the  oppressors  of  nations  were  abandoned  to 
th.emselves,  without  support,  without  assistance 
from  others,  what  could  they  accomplish  against 
them? 

If,  to  keep  them  in  servitude,  they  had  no  other 
aid  but  from  those  who  profit  by  servitude,  what 
would  that  petty  number  be,  opposed  to  whole 
nations? 

And  this  is  the  wisdom  of  God,  who  has  so  dis- 
posed things,  that  men  may  always  be  able  to  resist 
tyranny;  and  tyranny  would  be  impossible,  if  men 
understood  the  wisdom  of  God. 

But  having  turned  their  heart  to  other  thoughts, 


THE    TWO    IDOLS.  139 

the  rulers  of  the  world  have  opposed  to  the  wisdom 
of  God,  which  men  understood  not,  the  wisdom  of 
the  Prince  of  the  world,  Satan. 

~Now  Satan,  who  is  king  of  the  oppressors  of 
nations,  suggested  to  them  an  infernal  scheme,  to 
confirm  their  tyranny. 

He  said  to  them:  This  is  what  you  should  do. 
Take  from  each  family  the  young  men  most  robust, 
and  give  arms  to  them,  and  instruct  them  in  their 
use,  and  they  will  fight  for  you  again st«their  fathers 
and  their  brothers;  for  I  will  persuade  them  that 
it  is  a  glorious  deed. 

I  will  make  for  them  two  idols,  which  shall  be 
named  Honor  and  Loyalty,  and  a  law  which  shall 
be  called  passive  Obedience. 

And  they  shall  worship  those  idols,  and  they 
shall  blindly  submit  to  that  law,  because  I  will 
delude  their  spirit,  and  you  will  have  no  more  to  fear. 

And  the  oppressors  of  nations  did  what  Satan 
had  advised,  and  Satan  also  accomplished  what  he 
had  promised  to  the  oppressors  of  nations. 

And  the  children  of  the  people  were  seen  to  lift 
up  their  arm  against  the  people,  slaughter  their 
brothers,  bind  in  chains. their  fathers,  and  forget 
even  the  mothers  who  had  borne  them. 


140 

"When  it  was  said  to  them:  In  the  name  of  all 
that  is  sacred,  think  of  the  injustice,  of  the  atrocity 
of  what  you  are  ordered  to  do,  they  replied:  We  do 
not  think,  we  obey. 

And  when  it  was  said  to  them :  Is  there  no  longer 
within  you  any  love  for  your  fathers,  your  mothers, 
your  brothers  and  your  sisters?  they  replied:  "We  do 
not  love,  we  obey. 

And  when  they  were  shown  the  altars  of  the  God 
who  created*  man,  and  of  Christ  who  saved  him, 
they  exclaimed:  Those  are  the  Gods  of  the  country; 
the  Gods  whom  we  acknowledge,  are  the  Gods  of 
her  rulers,  Loyalty  and  Honor. 

Yerily,  I  say  unto  you,  since  the  beguiling  of  the 
first  woman  by  the  Serpent,  there  has  been  no  lead- 
ing astray  more  terrible  than  that. 

But  the  end  approaches.  "When  the  evil  spirit 
bewitches  upright  souls,  it  is  but  for  a  time.  They 
pass  as  it  were  through  a  hideous  dream,  and  at 
their  awakening,  they  bless  God  who  has  freed  them 
from  that  torture. 

A  few  days  more,  and  those  who  fought  for  the 
oppressors,  will  battle  for  the  oppressed ;  those  who 
fought  to  retain  in  chains  their  fathers,  their 
mothers,  their  brothers  and  their  sisters,  will  battle 
to  set  them  free. 


NOTHING   WITHOUT   GOD.  141 

And  Satan  will  flee  to  his  caverns  with  the  rulers 
of  nations. 

XLIY. 

NOTHING   WITHOUT     GOD. 

WHY  do  you  fatigue  yourselves  to  no  purpose  in 
your  wretchedness?  Your  desire  is  good,  but  you 
know  not  how  to  accomplish  it. 

Remember  well  this  maxim:  He  alone  is  able  to 
restore  life,  who  has  bestowed  life. 

Without  God,  you  will  thrive  in  nothing. 

You  writhe  upon  your  bed  of  anguish:  what  re- 
lief have  you  found? 

You  have  overthrown  a  few  tyrants,  and  others 
have  arisen,  worse  than  the  first. 

You  have  abolished  laws  of  servitude,  and  you 
have  had  laws  of  blood,  and  then  laws  of  servitude 
again. 

Distrust  therefore  those  who  interpose  between 
God  and  you,  so  that  their  shadow  conceals  Him 
from  you.  Those  men  have  evil  designs. 

For  from  God  emanates  the  power  which  gives 
freedom,  because  from  God  comes  the  love  which 
gives  union. 

For  you  what  can  a  man  do,  who  has  for  a  rule 


14:2 

but  his  own  thought,  and  for  a  law  his  own  will? 

Even  if  he  is  sincere  and  wishes  only  your  good, 
he  is  compelled  to  give  you.  his  will  for  a  law,  and 
his  thought  for  a  rule. 

ISTow,  all  tyrants  do  this. 

It  avails  not  to  overthrow  all  things,  and  to 
expose  one's  self  to  all  things,  in  order  to  substitute 
for  one  tyranny  another  tyranny. 

Liberty  does  not  consist  in  the  domination  of 
this  one  instead  of  that  one,  but  in  the  domination 
of  no  one. 

Now,  where  God  reigns  not,  it  is  necessary  for 
a  man  to  rule,  and  that  has  always  been  so. 

The  reign  of  God,  I  say  it  to  you  again,  is  the 
reign  of  justice  in  the  mind  and  of  fraternity  in 
the  heart:  and  its  foundation  on  earth  is  faith  in 
God  and  faith  in  Christ,  who  has  proclaimed  the 
law  of  God,  the  law  of  fraternity  and  the  law  of 
justice. 

The  law  of  justice  teaches  that  all  are  equal 
before  their  father,  who  is  God,  and  before  their 
only  master,  who  is  Christ. 

The  law  of  fraternity  tells  them  to  love  one 
another  and  give  mutual  aid  like  sons  of  the  same 
father  and  disciples  of  the  same  master. 


OBSERVATION   OF   DUTY — FULFILMENT   OF   LAW.  143 

And  then  they  are  free,  because  no  one  reigns 
over  others,  unless  he  has  been  chosen  voluntarily 
by  all  to  rule:  and  their  liberty  cannot  be  torn 
from  them,  because  they  are  all  united  for  its 
defense. 

But  those  who  say  unto  you:  Prior  to  us,  no  one 
understood  what  justice  was:  justice  proceeds  not 
from  God,  it  comes  from  man:  entrust  yourselves 
to  us,  and  we  will  give  you  justice  which  will  sat- 
isfy you. 

Such  persons  delude  you,  or,  if  they  promise  you 
liberty  in  sincerity,  they  deceive  themselves. 

For  they  ask  you  to  recognize  them  for  masters, 
and  thus  your  liberty  would  be  only  obedience 
to  these  new  masters. 

Tell  them  that  your  master  is  Christ,  that  you 
wish  for  no  other,  and  Christ  will  set  you  free. 

XLY. 

OBSERVATION   OF   DUTY THE    FULFILMENT   OF   THE 

LAW. 

DUTY  extends  itself  to  all  beings,  for  all  have  their 
place  in  the  Universe;  all — according  to  the  views 
of  Supreme  Wisdom — fulfil  functions,  which  it  is 


144 

forbidden  to  disturb;  all  enjoy  the  gift  divine,  and 
have  a  right  to  enjoy  it.  To  destroy  a  single  one 
among  them  from  pure  caprice,  or  inflict  upon  him 
useless  sufferings,  is  a  wicked  action,  an  action,  op- 
posed to  the  laws  "of  order. 

[Respect  God  in  His  least  works,  and  that  your 
love,  like  His,  embrace  everything  that  breathes 
and  lives. 

If,  in  endowing  man  with  intellect,  He  has  made 
him  the  king  of  nature,  His  will  was  not  that  man 
should  be  the  tyrant  of  nature.  His  eye,  from 
which  nothing  escapes,  has  a  fatherly  care  also  for 
the  poor  sparrow,  which  quivers  with  fear  under 
your  hand. 

No  society  is  possible  without  duty,  for  without 
it,  there  can  exist  no  tie  among  men. 

Interrogate  everywhere  unprejudiced  reason,  and 
the  conscience  which  neither  self-interest  nor  pas- 
sion has  corrupted,  and  they  will  answer  you:  that 
man  is  sacred  to  man ;  that  to  attack  him  in  his 
person,  in  his  liberty  or  in  his  property,  is  to  over- 
throw the  basis  of  order,  is  to  violate  the  moral, 
preservative  laws  of  mankind,  is  to  perpetrate  one 
of  those  acts,  which  in  all  centuries  and  among  all 
nations  have  received  the  terrible  name  of  CKIME. 


OBSERVATION  OF  DTJTY — FULFILMENT  OF  LAW.     145 

There  exists  a  voice  without  you,  immutable,  eter- 
nal, and  another  voice  within  you;  and  both  those 
voices  tell  you: 

Thou  shalt  do  no  murder;  thou  shalt  not  steal; 
thou  shalt  dishonor  neither  the  virtue  of  the  wife, 
nor  the  chastity  of  the  young  maiden ;  thy  thought 
even  shall  be  clean  of  those  abominations. 

"Whosoever  spills  the  blood  of  his  brother,  is 
accursed  on  earth  and  accursed  in  Heaven. 

And  accursed  also  is  he,  who  through  craft  or 
violence,  takes  away  from  his  brother  either  his 
liberty,  or  what  portion  soever  of  that  which  he 
possesses  legitimately;  who  carries  into  his  family 
disorder,  with  all  the  evils  to  which  disorder  gives 
birth:  shame,  discord,  the  torments  of  mind,  dis- 
trust, hatred  and  oftentimes  ruin. 

The  plants  of  the  fields,  grouped  together,  extend 
their  roots  in  the  soil,  which  nourishes  them  all,  and 
all  grow  up  in  peace.  Not  one  of  them  absorbs  the 
sap  of  another,  causes  its  blossom  to  wither,  or  spoils 
its  fragrance.  "Wherefore  is  man  less  kind  to  man? 

Banish  from  your  heart  all  wicked   desires  and 
all  wicked  thoughts;  for  to  take  a   delight  in  the 
thought  and  in  the  desire  of  evil,  is  already  to  have 
accomplished  the  evil. 
10 


146 

There  are  words  which  kill;  be  watchful  there- 
fore over  jour  tongue,  and  that  it  never  be  soiled 
with  evil-speaking  and  slander. 

Envy,  anger,  vindictiveness,  hatred,  devour  the 
soul  which  conceals  them,  and  that  tormented  soul  is 
perpetually  as  if  in  travail  to  give  birth  to  murder. 

Have  you  been  offended?  forgive,  that  you  may 
be  forgiven.  Who  does  not  stand  in  need  of  for- 
giveness?  and  who  can  say  to  himself:  not  one 
could  with  justice  complain  of  me? 

Do  not  walk  in  tortuous  paths,  and  let  your 
word  be  always  true;  that  it  never  offend  the  ear 
of  chastity,  nor  wound  the  respect  which  man  owes 
to  man,  and  owes  to  himself. 

He  also  owes  to  himself  that  he  should  shun 
everything  which  would  degrade  and  debase  him, 
by  bringing  him  nearer  to  the  brute:  all  the 
excesses  of  the  senses,  fatal  habits  which  wear  out 
the  body,  stupefy  the  mind,  and  make  beholders,  no 
longer  recognizing  in  him  an  intelligent  creature, 
turn  aside  their  eyes  from  him  with  disgust. 

In  us  there  exist  two  beings,  the  animal  and 
the  angel,  and  our  labor  should  be  to  combat  the 
one,  in  order  that  the  other  dominate  alone,  until 
the  moment,  when  liberated  from  his  weighty  en- 


OBSEBVATION  OF  DUTY FULFILMENT  OF  LAW.  147 

velope,  lie  shall  take  his  flight  towards  better  and 
higher  regions. 

Acting  in  this  manner,  you  will  injure  no  one, 
you  will  be  just;  but  other  duties  besides,  grand 
and  sacred  duties  will  remain  for  you  to  fulfill. 

Has  he,  who  has  simply  refrained  from  evil,  who 
has  done  to  his  fellow-creature  neither  the  slight- 
est wrong,  nor  the  slightest  good,  has  he  fulfilled 
his  duties  to  him,  and  is  he  perfect  before  God? 
In  depositing  at  the  bottom  of  our  heart  the  germ 
of  love  and  of  pity,  of  all  sympathetic  feeling,  has 
not  the  Father  in  heaven  commanded  us  other  vir- 
tues, more  elevated  and  more  far-reaching? 

Behold  yonder  poor  human  creature,  lying  at  the 
corner  of  the  street,  fainting  from  want,  or  whom 
an  accident  has  cast  mangled  there.  A  man  looks 
at  him,  pities  him  and  passes  by.  Am  I  the  cause, 
says  he  to  himself,  that  he  is  there  in  that  condi- 
tion, and  who  has  made  me  his  keeper?  It  is  more 
than  enough  that  one  must  think  of  one's  self. 
Another  looks  upon  him  also,  and  his  heart  is  moved. 
He  approaches,  takes  him  in  his  arms,  carries  him 
to  his  home,  lays  him  on  his  bed,  watches  by  him, 
and  takes  care  of  him  as  a  brother  takes  care  of  a 
brother,  and  a  friend  of  his  friend. 


148 

"Which  of  these  two  men  has  truly  accomplished 
his  duty? 

There  will  always  be  evils  on  earth,  and  those 
evils  must  always  be  remedied. 

Is  your  brother  hungry:  you  owe  him  the  nour- 
ishment he  is  in  want  of;  is  he  naked,  without 
roof,  without  refuge:  you  owe  him  clothing  and  a 
place  of  shelter;  sick,  you  owe  him  assistance. 
He  is  your  flesh,  for  you  are  all  members  of  one 
and  the  same  body,  which  one  and  the  same  soul 
must  animate:  treat  him  therefore  as  your  own  flesh. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  weakness  and  many 
sorts  of  destitution;  and  each  weakness  has  a  claim 
to  protection,  every  destitution  to  relief.  But  for 
that,  I  ask  you,  what  would  be  human  society? 
what  would  be  the  world?  What  would  become  of 
those  whom  infirmity,  poverty,  isolation,  old  age, 
simplicity  of  mind  and  ignorance  leave  an  easy 
prey  to  the  snares  of  the  wicked? 

Resent  the  injustice,  done  unto  others,  with  the 
same  energy,  the  same  resolution,  as  if  it  were  done 
unto  yourself;  stretch  forth  your  hand  between  the 
oppressor  and  the  oppressed.  Your  brother  is 
yourself,  and  if  he  is  oppressed,  are  you  not  op- 
pressed likewise? 


OBSERVATION  OF  DUTY FULFILMENT  OF  LAW.    149 

Let  the  orphan  find  in  you  a  father;  the  widow 
and  the  old  man  a  staff  of  support;  the  stranger 
a  helpful  host;  be  the  eve  of  the  blind  man,  and 
the  foot  of  the  .cripple. 

To  the  afflicted  speak  those  words  from  the  heart, 
which  soothe  the  bitterness  of  their  tears.  There 
are  no  sufferings  which  sympathy  does  not  alleviate. 
The  sorrows  of  life  are  dissipated  by  the  rays  of 
fraternal  love,  even  as  the  frosts  in  autumn  melt 
away  before  the  morning-sun. 

Whoever  gives  in  season  good  advice,  a  wise 
warning,  or  useful  instruction,  gives  more  than  if 
he  gave  gold ;  and  to  impart  that  which  one  knows, 
to  spread  science,  is  sowing  the  seed  which  will 
nourish  successive  generations. 

Do  not  think  that  you  can  do  too  much,  in  order 
to  obtain  peace:  peace,  which  is  the  foundation  of 
all  happiness,  is  at  the  same  time  its  crowning- 
work.  Bear  with  others,  that  they  may  bear  with 
you.  Have  we  not  all  our  foibles,  our  failings,  our 
disagreeable  moments?  patience  gradually  softens 
the  rudest  asperities;  let  nothing  then  exhaust 
your  patience,  neither  irritating  words,  nor  provok- 
ing levity.  Be  like  unto  the  vine,  whose  juice  is 
so  much  the  sweeter,  as  it  grows  in  a  stonier  soil. 


150 

To  respect  the  life,  the  liberty,  and  the  property 
of  others; 

To  assist  others  in  the  preserving  and  the  de- 
veloping of  their  life,  their  liberty,  and  their  prop- 
erty; 

These  two  precepts  contain  in  substance  the 
duties  of  justice  and  fraternity.  To  detail  them, 
would  be  infinite,  for  they  include  all  the  thoughts, 
all  the  feelings,  all  the  actions  of  man,  and  one 
single  precept  comprises  them  all,  the  divine  precept 
of  love.  Love,  and  do  whatever  you  please,  for 
you  shall  wish  for  nothing  but  what  is  just  and 
good.  Love,  says  the  sovereign  Master,  and  thou 
shalt  perfectly  fulfil  the  law. 

XLYI. 

THE   PROPHET. 

WHEN  fraternity  had  frozen  up,  and  injustice  had 
commenced  to  nourish  on  the  earth,  God  spoke  to 
one  of  His  servants:  Go  unto  that  people  from  me, 
and  proclaim  to  them  what  thou  shalt  see;  and  that 
which  thou  shalt  see,  will  surely  come  to  pass,  un- 
less, quitting  their  evil  ways,  they  repent  and  return 
unto  me. 


THE    PKOPHET.  151 

And  the  servant  of  God  obeyed  His  command, 
and  having  clad  himself  in  sackcloth,  and  having 
sprinkled  ashes  upon  his  head,  he  went  to  that  mul- 
titude, and  raising  his  voice,  said : 

"Wherefore  do  you  kindle  the  anger  of  the  Lord 
to  your  own  destruction?  Quit  your  evil  ways: 
repent  and  return  unto  Him. 

And  some,  hearing  these  words,  were  moved,  and 
others  scoffed,  saying:  Who  is  he,  and  what  comes 
he  to  tell  us?  Who  has  given  him  the  right  to 
reprimand  us?  He  is  a  fool. 

And  behold,  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  the 
prophet,  and  time  was  opened  to  his  eyes,  and  the 
centuries  passed  before  him. 

And  suddenly  rending  his  clothes:  Thus,  said  he, 
will  be  dismembered  the  race  of  Adam. 

The  men  of  iniquity  have  measured  the  earth  with 
a  cord:  they  have  numbered  its  inhabitants,  as  one 
numbers  cattle,  head  by  head. 

They  have  said:  Let  us  divide  this  among  our- 
selves, and  let  us  make  it  valuable  for  our  use. 

And  the  division  has  been  made;  and  each  has 
taken  what  fell  to  his  lot,  and  the  earth  and  its  in- 
habitants have  become  the  possession  of  the  men 
of  iniquity,  and  consulting  together,  they  have 


152 

asked  one  another:  What  is  our  possession  worth? 
and  together  they  have  answered:  Thirty  pieces  of 
silver. 

And  they  have  commenced  to  traffic  among 
themselves  with  those  thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

There  have  been  purchases,  sales,  exchanges; 
men  for  land,  land  for  men,  and  the  balance  in  gold. 

And  each  has  coveted  the  share  of  the  other,  and 
they  have  begun  to  butcher  one  another  for  the 
purpose  of  mutually  despoiling  one  another,  and,  in 
the  blood  which  flowed,  they  have  written  upon  a 
slip  of  paper:  Right,  and  upon  another:  Glory. 

Oh  Lord!  enough,  enough! 

There  are  two  who  cast  their  hooks  of  iron  upon 
a  nation.  Each  bears  away  his  fragment. 

The  sword  is  sharpened  and  sharpened  again. 
Do  you  hear  those  heart-rending  cries?  they  are 
the  plaints  of  young  wives  and  the  wail  ings  of 
mothers. 

Two  spectres  glide  through  the  shadows;  they 
haste  over  the  plains  and  through  the  cities.  The 
one,  fleshless  as  a  skeleton,  gnaws  at  the  remains 
of  an  unclean  beast;  the  other  has  in  his  arm-pit  a 
black  fester,  and  the  jackals  follow  him  howling. 

Lord,  Lord,  shall  Thy  wrath  be  everlasting  ?    Shall 


THE   PROPHET.  153 

Thine  arm  never  stretch  forth  but  to  strike?  Spare 
the  fathers  for  the  sake  of  the  children.  Suffer  Thy- 
self to  be  moved  by  the  tears  of  those  poor  little 
creatures,  who  are  not  yet  able  to  distinguish  their 
left  hand  from  their  right. 

The  world  grows  broader,  peace  will  be  born 
again,  there  will  be  room  for  all. 

"Woe!  woe!  blood  flows  on:  it  encircles  the 
earth  like  a  girdle  of  red. 

"Who  is  that  aged  man,  who  talks  of  justice,  hold- 
ing in  one  hand  a  cup  of  poison,  and  caressing  with 
the  other  a  prostitute,  who  calls  him  father? 

He  says:  To  me  belongs  the  race  of  Adam. 
Among  you,  who  are  the  strongest?  I  will  distrib- 
ute that  race! 

And  what  he  has  said,  he  does,  and  from  his 
throne,  without  rising,  he  assigns  to  each  his  prey. 

And  all  gorge,  gorge;  and  their  hunger  grows 
more  clamorous,  and  they  rush  upon  one  another, 
and  the  flesh  quivers,  and  the  bones  crack  in  their 
teeth. 

A  market-place  is  opened,  the  nations  are  driven 
there  with  a  cord  around  their  neck;  their  muscles 
are  felt,  they  are  weighed,  they  are  made  to  run 
and  to  walk:  they  are  valued  at  so  much.  It  is  no 


154 

longer  the  former  tumult  and  confusion,  it  is  com- 
merce regularly  conducted. 

Happy  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  animals  of 
the  earth!  no  one  restrains  them,  they  go  and  come 
as  they  please. 

"What  are  those  mill-stones  which  turn  without 
ceasing,  and  what  do  they  grind? 

Children  of  Adam,  those  mill-stones  are  the  laws 
of  those  who  rule  you,  and  you  are  the  grist  which 
they  grind. 

And  in  proportion  as  the  prophet  cast  upon  the 
future  these  ill-boding  gleams,  a  strange  terror 
seized  upon  those  who  listened. 

Suddenly  his  voice  ceased  to  be  heard,  and  he 
seemed  as  if  absorbed  in  profound  thought.  The 
people  waited  in  silence,  their  heart  oppressed  and 
beating  with  anguish. 

Then  the  prophet:  Lord,  Thou  hast  not  abandoned 
this  people  in  its  misery;  Thou  hast  not  delivered 
it  for  ever  to  its  oppressors. 

And  he  took  two  twigs,  and  he  stripped  off  their 
leaves,  and  crossing  them,  he  bound  them  together, 
and  raised  them  on  high  over  the  multitude,  saying: 
This  shall  be  your  salvation;  you  shall  conquer  by 
this  emblem. 


THE    CONSPIRACY   OF   EVIL.  155 

And  night  came  on,  and  the  prophet  disappeared 
as  a  shadow  which  passes,  and  the  multitude  dis- 
persed on  all  sides  in  the  darkness. 

XLYII. 

THE    CONSPIRACY  OF   EVIL. 

SATAN,  one  day,  assembled  his  minions,  and  said 
to  them:  It  is  vain  to  tempt  men  in  a  thousand 
ways,  to  push  them  upon  the  decline,  where  they 
slide  so  rapidly,  our  work  advances  little;  what  we 
gain  on  the  one  hand,  we  lose  on  the  other.  Why 
is  this? 

Each  of  the  infernal  powers  extolling  himself, 
accused  the  others,  until  wrath  and  hatred  being 
kindled,  nothing  was  longer  heard  but  jarring 
sounds,  yells  of  anger,  the  hiss  of  burning  breath, 
mingled  with  words  of  phrensy,  of  threat,  and  of 
blasphemy.  In  the  black  pit  a  horrible  conflict  was 
impending,  when  the  king  of  the  fallen  legions  sud- 
denly drawing  himself  to  his  full  height,  sent  forth 
his  voice,  formidable  and  awful  as  subterranean 
thunder. 

Silence!  it  said;  and  there  was  silence. 

That  which  ye  know  not,  continued    Satan,  I 


156 

know.  Our  efforts  have  been  in  part  futile,  because 
ill- concerted,  they  lacked  unison.  Each  of  you,  ac- 
cording to  his  fancy,  has  sown  here  and  there  at 
random,  without  calculation  and  without  foresight, 
and  this  is  why  at  harvest- time  we  have  gathered 
ears  and  not  sheaves. 

Should  this  continue,  as  well  might  I  yield  up 
my  empire.  Think  ye  that  Satan  will  so  resolve? 
"Nol  to  all  eternity,  no! 

I  will  raise  the  city  of  evil,  I  will  lay  its  founda- 
tion upon  this  earth  which  a  rival  power  contests 
with  me. 

For  that  audacity  is  without  doubt  necessary;  but 
there  is  necessity  also  for  prudence.  Let  us  hasten 
nothing.  Let  a  centre  fir^st  be  established,  from 
which  our  action  shall  spring,  from  which  it  shall 
flow  stream  upon  stream  and  insinuate  itself,  by  a 
thousand  various  ways,  even  to  the  extremities  of 
that  great  body,  called  society.  Let  us  breathe  into 
its  heart  the  fire  with  which  we  burn,  that  it  may 
unknowingly  consume  them. 

Fierce  acclamations  greeted  these  words  of  Satan. 

And  the  earth,  seized  with  sudden  fear,  trembled; 
and  the  sun  was  veiled,  and  the  air  became  dark; 
from  the  grave-yards  arose  slowly  vapors,  dense, 


THE   CONSPIRACY   OF   EVIL.  157 

livid,  grey  and  reddish,  and  in  the  distance  was 
heard  a  tolling  like  funeral-bells. 

And  in  the  slums  of  a  great  city,  in  as  it  were  a 
sink,  whence  exhaled  an  odor  of  corruption,  I  saw  a 
crowd  to  which  I  can  give  no  name.  Their  horrid 
faces  had  the  features  of  man,  but  not  the  expression. 
Their  retreating  brows,  their  ghastly  cheeks,  here 
and  there  streaked  with  red,  or  marked  with  pur- 
ple spots,  wore  the  hideous  stamp  of  base  crime  and 
brutish  vice.  There  could  be  read  in  their  eyes  glow- 
ing or  glassy,  in  their  sneaking  gaze,  all  the  nature  of 
the  beast  of  prey,  of  vile  wickedness,  cunning,  craft, 
something  of  the  serpent,  something  also  of  the 
hyena. 

There  were  of  all  kinds  and  of  all  aspects,  from 
the  beggar  clothed  in  rags  to  him  who  displays  on 
splendid  robes  the  prostituted  emblems  of  a  false 
glory  and  infamous  honor. 

From  a  high-raised  seat,  one  of  them,  surrounded 
by  inferior  chiefs,  inured  to  the  hardships  of  hell, 
gave  to  the  crowd  his  orders.  He  divided  them 
into  two  bands.  The  one  was  to  show  itself  in 
broad  day,  the  other  to  creep  unseen  through  the 
public  places  and  even  into  the  privacy,  everywhere 
sacred,  of  the  domestic  hearth ;  and  they  were  com- 


158  .     THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

manded  to  act  together,  each  to  support  and  aid 
the  other. 

Something,  I  know  not  what,  revolting  as  the 
sneer  of  evil,  curled  the  lips  of  him  who  was  sur- 
rounded in  silence  by  all  these  human  spectres. 

To  those,  appointed  to  skulk  in  the  shadows,  he 
said: 

These  shall  be  your  gods:  falsehood,  perjury, 
hypocrisy,  corruption.  You  shall  spread  every- 
where suspicion,  jealousies.  At  times  also,  you 
shall  lull  to  sleep  credulous  simplicity,  that  your 
purposes  may  the  better  be  served.  You  shall 
beguile  and  you  shall  betray.  You  shall  search 
hearts,  that  you  may  discover  the  germs  of  vice, 
which  may  there  be  concealed,  and,  at  the  agreed 
price,  you  shall  furnish  to  each  his  demands. 
Proceed  artfully,  allure,  seduce,  veiling  the  conse- 
quences, until  return  is  no  longer  possible.  And 
want  also,  extreme  want,  shall  be  for  you  a  power- 
ful instrument.  You  shall  say  to  famine:  Sell  me 
this  one,  that  one,  and  if  there  is  hesitation,  you 
shall  point  out  to  the  father  the  yawning  tomb 
which  awaits  his  wife,  his  children,  and  you  shall 
ring  in  his  ear  their  cries  of  anguish.  You  shall 
spread  your  snares  for  the  step  of  the  unsuspecting 


THE    CONSPIRACY   OF   EVIL.  159 

man,  you  shall  suggest  to  him  things  concerning 
which  he  had  not  the  least  thought,  you  shall  urge 
him  upon  perilous  paths,  and  if  not  successful, 
understand  this  well,  you  shall  create  that  which 
is  not.  Go.  And  he  flung  to  them  pieces  of  gold, 
upon  which  they  threw  themselves  with  avidity. 

To  the  others  he  said: 

As  for  you,  your  gods  shall  be  violence  and 
menace.  You  shall  threaten  the  feeble,  the  poor, 
you  shall  make  him  desolate  by  your  persecutions, 
you  shall  snatch  from  him  the  crust  of  bread  soaked 
in  his  sweat,  if  he  do  not  blindly  comply  with  all 
that  you  require  of  him. 

Let  all  obey  with  the  dumb  docility  of  the  beast 
of  burden.  Let  them  think  as  we  do,  or  not  think 
at  all,  or  let  them  bear  the  penalty  of  thought  in 
rebellion. 

I  have  chosen  you  for  a  work,  conforming  to 
your  nature.  You  shall  have  your  banquets,  where 
shall  be  tears,  wounds,  blood,  blood  which  shall 
flow  without  danger  to  you,  without  resistance  to 
you,  for  such  is  our  courage. 

Having  said  this,  all  dispersed,  and  the  great 
city  was  like  a  tree,  at  whose  foot  has  been  poured 
out  fluid  poison,  which  is  absorbed  through  the 


160 

roots,  and  which,  mounting  with  the  sap,  withers 
the  blossoms,  the  fruit,  the  leaves,  and  rots  the  dead 
branches. 

And  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  was  the  victim  of  a 
horrible  dream,  when  suddenly  a  confused  noise 
woke  me  from  my  stupor.  It  was  voices  of  anger, 
blended  with  snappings  as  of  broken  limbs,  heart- 
rending groans  and  savage  laughter,  and  I  beheld 
a  multitude  of  young  men,  of  children,  mangled, 
blood-stained,  who  were  crowded  and  heaped  in 
the  sink,  whence  the  drunken  lands  of  the  spirit  of 
Satan  had  issued,  and  the  iron-bound  gates  opened 
and  closed  of  themselves,  awful  was  the  silence. 

And  1  was  transported  to  a  dim  hall.  I  recog- 
nized him  who  ruled  in  that  place;  he  was  not  alone: 
near  him  pressed  and  thronged  dark  phantoms, 
with  whom  he  counseled  in  a  low  tone. 

And  after  a  short  time,  the  dark  phantoms  with- 
drew. I  wished  to  follow  them,  but  they  disap- 
peared in  passages,  gloomy  and  winding,  where 
the  poisoned  air  suffocated  me. 

As  I,  overwhelmed  with  sadness  and  filled  with 
terror,  was  considering  these  things,  lo!  the  same 
crowd,  which  I  had  seen  thrust  into  the  sink,  reap- 
pears to  my  eyes,  always  displaying  the  same  ghastly 


THE   CONSPIRACY   OF   EVIL.  161 

looks.  They  drove  them  forward,  through  a  door- 
way, narrow  and  low,  into  a  sort  of  cavern,  where 
I  perceived  scowling  faces,  such  as  are  seen  on  the 
scaffold,  around  the  doomed  criminal,  and  I  heard 
sounds,  shrill  and  hoarse,  and  savage  jests,  and 
terrible  curses,  and  I  felt  myself  plunged  into  a 
dense  vapor  of  fetid  odor,  like  that  which  rises  from 
the  tomb,  and  I  nearly  swooned. 

And  those  who  had  been  cast  there  grew  pale 
hour  by  .hour,  and  feeble,  and  bent.  The  air  refused 
to  enter  their  panting  breast,  and  their  bones  rattled 
together  like  the  bones  of  a  skeleton,  and  in  the 
morning  was  seen,  without  mourners,  without 
prayers,  carried  away  in  silence  some  fleeting 
coffin. 

And  from  my  soul,  filled  with  unspeakable  agony, 
this  cry  escaped: 

Lord,  can  Satan  have  been  the  victor? 

And  a  voice  said  to  me:  Behold! 

And  I  raised  my  eyes,  and  saw  in  the  divine 
light  the  martyrs  who  smiled. 


11 


16-2 


XLYIII. 

THE   AGED   MAN   AND   THE   PILGRIM. 

IN  the  time  when  the  leaves  grow  yellow,  an  aged 
man,  loaded  with  a  bundle  of  twigs,  returned  slowly 
to  his  hut,  situated  on  the  declivity  of  a  vale. 

And  at  the  opening  of  the  vale,  between  a  few 
trees,  scattered  here  and  there,  were  seen  the  oblique 
rays  of  the  sun,  already  descended  below  the  hori- 
zon, sporting  on  the  clouds  of  the  west,  and  tinging 
them  with  numberless  hues,  which  faded  away  little 
by  little. 

And  the  aged  man,  having  arrived  at  his  hut,  his 
only  wealth,  together  with  the  small  piece  of  ground 
near  by,  which  he  cultivated,  cast  down  his  bundle 
of  twigs,  seated  himself  upon  a  wooden  bench,  black 
with  smoke  from  the  hearth,  and  dropped  his  head 
upon  his  breast  in  profound  reverie. 

And  from  time  to  time  his  overcharged  breast 
allowed  a  convulsive  sob  to  escape,  and  in  a  cracked 
voice,  he  said: 

I  had  but  one  son,  they  have  taken  him  from  me; 
but  one  poor  cow,  they  have  taken  her  from  me  for 
the  tax  of  my  little  field. 


THE  AGED  MAN  AND  THE  PILGRIM.     163 

And  then,  with  a  voice  more  feeble,  he  repeated : 
My  son,  ray  son;  and  a  teardrop  moistened  his 
aged  lashes,  but  it  could  not  fall. 

As  he  was  thus  grieving,  he  heard  some  one  who 
said:  Father,  may  the  blessing  of  God  rest  upon  you 
and  yours! 

Mine,  said  the  aged  man,  I  have  no  longer  one  to 
call  mine;  I  am  alone. 

And  raising  his  eyes,  he  beheld  a  pilgrim,  stand- 
ing at  the  door,  resting  upon  a  long  staff;  and 
knowing  that  the  guest  is  sent  of  God,  he  said  to 
him: 

May  God  requite  your  benediction !  Come  in,  my 
son:  what  the  poor  hath,  belongs  to  the  poor. 

And  kindling  upon  the  hearth  his  bundle  of  twigs, 
he  began  to  make  ready  a  repast  for  the  traveler. 

But  nothing  was  able  to  divert  the  thought  which 
oppressed  him:  it  rested  constantly  upon  his  heart. 

And  the  pilgrim,  having  learned  what  so  sorely 
distressed  him,  said:  Father,  God  tries  you  at  the 
hand  of  men.  Yet,  there  are  calamities  greater 
than  yours.  It  is  not  the  oppressed  that  suffer 
most,  it  is  the  oppressor. 

The  aged  man  shook  his  head,  and  answered  not. 

The  pilgrim  continued:  What  you  now  believe 
not,  you  shortly  will  believe. 


164 

And  having  caused  him  to  sit  down,  with  his 
hands  he  touched  his  eyes,  and  the  aged  man  sunk 
into  a  slumber,  heavy,  dark  and  full  of  horrors,  as 
was  the  slumber  which  fell  upon  Abraham,  when 
God  showed  to  him  the  coming  misfortunes  of  his 
race. 

And  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  were  transported 
to  a  vast  palace,  beside  a  couch;  near  by  the  couch 
was  a  crown,  and  on  the  couch  a  sleeping  man, 
whose  thoughts  the  aged  man  could  read  as  clearly 
as,  awake  by  day,  we  see  that  which  passes  before 
our  eyes. 

And  the  man  lying  there,  stretched  upon  the 
couch  of  gold,  seemed  to  hear  the  confused  cries  of 
a  multitude,  asking  for  bread.  It  was  a  sound  like 
the  roar  of  the  surge  which  breaks  against  the 
shore  in  the  storm.  And  the  tempest  grew  more 
violent;  and  the  roar  increased;  and  the  man  who 
slept,  saw  the  waves  moment  by  moment  rise  higher 
and  still  more  high,  and  beat  even  against  the  walls 
of  the  palace,  and  he  made  most  terrible  efforts  to 
flee,  but  could  not,  and  his  agony  was  extreme. 

Whilst  he  gazed  in  terror,  the  aged  man  was  sud- 
denly transported  to  another  palace.  He  who  lay 
stretched  out  there,  rather  resembled  a  corpse  than 
one  living. 


THE  AGED  MAN  AND  THE  PILGRIM.      165 

And  in  his  sleep,  he  beheld  before  him  severed 
heads;  and  opening  their  mouths,  those  heads  said: 

We  had  devoted  ourselves  to  thee,  and  this  is  the 
reward  which  we  have  received.  Sleep  on,  sleep 
on,  we  sleep  not.  "We  await  the  hour  of  vengeance: 
it  approaches. 

And  the  blood  curdled  in  the  veins  of  the  sleeper. 
And  to  himself  he  said:  If  I  might  at  least  leave 
my  crown  to  this  child:  and  his  haggard  eyes 
turned  upon  a  cradle,  on  which  was  placed  a  queen's 
diadem. 

But  when  he  grew  more  tranquil,  and  drew  a 
little  comfort  from  this  thought,  another,  resembling 
him  in  feature,  seized  the  child  and  crushed  it 
against  the  wall. 

And  the  aged  man  felt  himself  swooning  with 
horror. 

And  he  was  transported  at  the  same  moment  into 
two  different  places;  and  although  far  separated, 
the  places  to  him  seemed  but  one. 

And  he  beheld  two  men  who,  but  for  their  age, 
might  have  been  mistaken  the  one  for  the  other, 
and  he  knew  that  they  had  been  borne  by  the  same 
mother. 

And  their  sleep  was  that  of  the  condemned  to  be 


166 

executed  at  his  wakening.  Shapes,  wrapped  in 
bloody  shrouds,  passed  before  them,  and  each,  in 
passing  by,  touched  them,  and  their  limbs  quivered 
and  contracted  as  if  to  escape  that  deathly  touch. 

Then  they  gazed  upon  each  other  with  something 
like  a  hideous  smile,  and  their  eyes  flashed  fire,  and 
their  hand  moved  convulsively  to  the  handle  of  a 
dagger. 

And  the  aged  man  next  saw  a  man,  wan  and 
emaciated.  Suspicion  glided  in  multitudes  by 
his  bed,  distilled  their  venom  upon  his  face,  whis- 
pered in  a  low  tone  sinister  words,  and  slowly  sunk 
their  claws  into  his  skull,  which  was  moist  with 
cold  perspiration.  And  a  human  form,  white  as  a 
winding-sheet,  approached  him,  and  without  speak- 
ing, pointed  with  its  finger  to  a  livid  spot  which  it 
had  around  its  neck.  And  in  the  bed  where  he  lay, 
the  knees  of  the  pale  man  rattled  together,  and  his 
mouth  fell  open  in  terror,  and  his  eyes  dilated  with 
fear. 

And  the  aged  man,  benumbed  with  fright,  was 
transported  to  a  palace  more  vast. 

And  he  who  slumbered  there,  breathed  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty.  A  black  spectre  was  squatted 
upon  his  breast  and  grinned  at  him.  And  it  chat- 


THE   AGED   MAN   AND    THE   PILGRIM.  167 

tered  in  his  ear,  and  its  words  became  visions  to  the 
mind  of  the  man  whom  it  pressed  down  and  lacer- 
ated with  its  sharp  bones. 

And  he  saw  himself  surrounded  with  a  number- 
less multitude,  who  rent  the  air  with  fearful 
cries : 

Thou  hast  promised  us  liberty,  and  thou  hast 
given  us  servitude. 

Thou  hast  promised  us  to  reign  by  law,  and  the 
laws  are  thy  mere  caprices. 

Thou  hast  promised  that  thou  would st  spare  the 
bread  of  our  wives  and  of  our  children,  and  thou 
hast  doubled  our  burdens  to  swell  thine  own  treas- 
ures. 

Thou  hast  promised  us  glory,  and  hast  given  us 
up  to  the  scorn  of  nations  and  their  just  hatred. 

Descend,  descend,  and  sleep  with  perjurers  and 
tyrants. 

And  he  felt  himself  hurled  down,  dragged  by  that 
multitude,  and  he  clung  to  his  sacks  of  gold,  and 
the  sacks  burst,  and  the  gold  scattered  and  fell  to 
the  earth. 

And  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  wandered  forlorn 
through  the  world,  and,  thirsty,  asked  for  a  drink 
in  charity,  and  that  a  glass  of  dregs  was  offered 


168  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

him,  and  that  all  shunned  him,  all  cursed  him,  be- 
cause his  brow  was  branded  with  the  mark  of 
traitor. 

And  the  aged  man  in  disgust  turned  away  his 
eyes. 

And  in  two  other  palaces,  he  saw  two  other  men, 
dreaming  of  executions.  For,  said  they,  where 
shall  we  find  security?  The  ground  is  sapped  be- 
neath our  feet;  the  nations  abhor  us;  the  little 
children  even,  in  their  prayers,  ask  God,  night  and 
morn,  that  the  earth  may  be  delivered  from  us. 

And  the  one  condemned  to  HARSH  IMPRISONMENT, 
that  is  to  say  to  all  the  tortures  of  body  and  soul, 
and  to  death  by  hunger,  the  wretches  whom  he 
suspected  of  having  uttered  the  word  fatherland; 
and  the  other,  after  having  seized  upon  their  prop- 
erty, ordered  to  be  thrown  into  the  'depths  of  a 
dungeon  two  young  maidens,  guilty  of  having 
cared  for  their  wounded  brothers  in  a  hospital. 

And  as  they  grew  weary  in  the  labor  of  execu- 
tion, messengers  came  to  them. 

And  one  of  the  messengers  said:  Your  southern 
provinces  have  burst  their  chains,  and  with  the 
links  they  have  driven  away  your  rulers  and  your 
soldiers. 


THE  AGED  MAN  AND  THE  PILGKIM.      169 

And  the  other:  your  eagles  have  been  plucked 
on  the  banks  of  the  great  river:  its  waves  bear 
away  the  debris. 

And  the  two  kings  writhed  upon  their  couch. 

And  the  aged  man  saw  a  third.  He  had  ban- 
ished God  from  his  heart,  and  in  his  heart,  in  place 
of  God,  was  a  worm  which  gnawed  him  incessantly; 
and  when  the  torture  became  more  intense,  he  mut- 
tered indistinct  blasphemies,  and  his  lips  were  cov- 
ered with  bloody  froth. 

And  he  seemed  to  be  in  an  immense  plain,  alone 
with  the  worm  which  left  him  not.  And  that  plain 
was  a  grave-yard,  the  grave-yard  of  a  slaughtered 
people. 

And  behold,  suddenly  the  earth  trembles;  the 
tombs  burst  open,  the  dead  arise  and  advance  in 
crowds:  and  he  could  neither  move,  nor  cry  out. 

And  all  those  dead,  men,  women,  children,  gazed 
upon  him  in  silence:  and  after  a  short  time,  in  the 
same  silence,  they  raised  the  stones  from  the  tombs, 
and  placed  them  around  him. 

First  he  was  walled  up  to  his  knee,  then  to  his 
breast,  then  to  his  mouth,  and  with  a  powerful  effort 
he  strained  the  muscles  of  his  neck  to  breathe  once 
more;  and  the  wall  continually  grew  higher,  and 


170  THE  POOR  MAN'S  GOSPEL. 

when  it  was  finished,  its  top  was  lost  in  a  dark  cloud. 

The  strength  of  the  aged  man  began  to  leave  him ; 
his  soul  was  overcome  with  terror. 

And  behold,  hjaving  traversed  several  deserted 
halls,  in  a  small  chamber,  on  a  bed,  dimly  lightened 
by  a  feeble  lamp,  he  sees  a  man  worn  with  age. 

Around  the  bed  were  seven  terrors,  four  on  one 
side,  three  on  the  other. 

And  one  of  the  terrors  laid  his  hand  upon  the 
heart  of  the  decrepit  man,  and  he  trembled,  and  his 
limbs  shook;  and  the  hand  rested  there  as  long  as 
it  felt  any  heat. 

And  after  this  one,  another  more  cold  did  as  the 
first,  and  all  laid  their  hand  upon  the  heart  of  the 
decrepit  man. 

And  there  passed  within  him  things,  impossible 
to  unveil. 

He  beheld  in  the  distance,  toward  the  pole,  a 
hideous  phantom,  which  said  to  him :  Yield  thyself 
up  to  me,  and  I  will  warm  thee  with  my  breath. 

And  with  his  frozen  fingers,  the  terrified  man 
wrote  down  a  pact,  I  know  not  what,  but  each 
word  was  like  a  death-rattle. 

And  this  was  the  last  vision.  And  the  aged 
man  having  awaked,  rendered  thanks  to  Providence 


THE    MILLENNIUM.  171 

for  the  lot  which  it  had  given  to  him  in  the  suffer- 
ings of  life. 

And  the  pilgrim  said  to  him:  Hope  and  pray; 
prayer  obtains  all.  Your  son  is  not  lost;  your  eyes 
shall  behold  him  again  before  closing.  Await  in 
peace  the  day  of  God. 

And  the  aged  man  awaited  in  peace. 

XLIX. 

THE   MILLENNIUM. 

WHEN,  after  a  long  drought,  a  gentle  rain  falls 
upon  the  earth,  it  drinks  up  with  avidity  the  water 
from  Heaven,  which  refreshes  it  and  makes  it  fer- 
tile. 

Thus,  the  thirsting  nations  will  drink  in  with 
avidity  the  word  of  God,  as  it  descends  upon  them 
like  a  summer-shower. 

And  justice  with  love,  and  peace  and  liberty  will 
spring  up  in  their  breast. 

And  it  will  be  as  in  the  time  when  all  were  broth- 
ers, and  there  will  be  heard  no  more  the  voice  of 
the  master,  nor  the  voice  of  the  slave,  the  groans  of 
the  poor,  nor  the  sighs  of  the  oppressed,  only  songs 
of  gladness  and  of  thanksgiving. 


172 

Fathers  will  say  to  their  sons:  Our  early  days 
were  troubled,  full  of  tears  and  of  anguish.  Now 
the  sun  rises  and  sets  upon  our  joy.  Praised  be 
God,  who  has  shown  us  these  mercies  before  death! 

And  mothers  will  say  to  their  daughters:  Behold 
our  brows,  now  so  smooth ;  formerly  affliction,  grief, 
unrest  traced  there  deep  furrows.  Yours  are  like 
the  surface  of  a  lake  in  spring-time,  agitated  by  no 
breeze.  Praised  be  God,  who  has  shown  us  these 
mercies  before  death! 

And  the  young  men  will  say  to  the  youthful 
maidens:  You  are  beautiful  as  the  flowers  of  the 
field,  pure  as  the  dew  which  refreshes  them,  as  the 
light  which  gives  them  color.  It  is  sweet  to  see 
our  fathers,  sweet  to  be  near  our  mothers;  but 
when  we  behold  you  and  are  near  you,  there  moves 
in  our  souls  something  unnamed  but  in  Heaven. 
Praised  be  God,  who  has  shown  us  these  mercies 
before  death! 

And  the  youthful  maidens  will  reply:  The  flow- 
ers fade,  they  pass  away;  there  comes  a  day,  when 
no  more  the  dew  refreshes  them,  nor  the  light 
gives  them  color.  There  is  upon  the  earth  only 
virtue,  which  never  fades  nor  passes  away.  Our 
fathers  are  like  the  ripened  ear  in  autumn,  and  our 


LIFE   AND   DEATH.  173 

mothers  like  the  vine,  loaded  with  fruit.  It  is 
sweet  to  see  our  fathers;  it  is  sweet  to  be  at  our 
mothers'  side:  and  the  sons  of  our  fathers  and  of 
our  mothers  are  also  dear  to  us.  Praised  be  God, 
who  has  shown  us  these  mercies  before  death! 


LIFE    AND    DEATH. 

THAT  marvelous  order,  those  beautiful  and  touch- 
ing harmonies  which  charm  us  in  nature,  whence  do 
they  come?  From  everything  being  in  its  place, 
and  maintaining  itself  there  invariably.  Each  be- 
ing, obeying  with  punctual  regularity  the  general 
laws  and  its  particular  laws,  faithfully  fulfils  the 
function  which  the  Creator  assigned  to  it.  From 
the  sun,  whence  pour  forth  inexhaustible  torrents 
of  light  and  of  life,  to  the  river-source  which  comes 
down,  drop  by  drop,  from  the  rock — everything  is 
regulated  to  one  and  the  same  design,  and  every- 
thing contributes  to  it  in  an  infinite  variety  of  ways, 
which  our  thought  admires  more  and  more,  the 
longer  we  contemplate  them.  There  is  not  in  the 
Universe  one  action,  one  movement,  which  does  not, 
immediately  one  after  another,  co-operate  in  the 


174 

growth  of  the  moss-plant;  and  the  different  worlds, 
after  having  gone  like  the  moss-plant  through  all 
the  phases  of  development,  are  decomposed  like  it: 
to  furnish  nourishment  for  other  worlds. 

There  is  not  one  creature  whose  existence  does 
not  depend  upon  other  creatures.  In  order  that 
they  may  subsist,  a  continual  transfusion  of  their 
entity  must  take  place.  What  is  life?  To  receive. 
What  is  death?  To  give.  Life,  in  its  first  condi- 
tion, is  a  sacrifice,  a  perpetual  and  universal  com- 
munion. 

That  which  inert  bodies,  plants,  animals  destitute 
of  reason,  do  blindly  and  necessarily,  subjected  as 
they  are  to  a  fatal,  irresistible  impulse,  man  must 
do  freely;  subordinating  himself  to  the  whole,  of 
which  he  is  a  member,  he  must  love  his  brothers  as 
he  loves  himself,  wish  for  their  happiness  as  he 
wishes  for  his  own,  rejoice  in  their  joys,  grieve  over 
their  troubles,  help  them,  serve  them,  identify  him- 
self with  them,  sacrifice  himself  for  them,  and  in 
this  manner,  through  an  evermore  growing  union 
of  individuals  and  nations,  work  at  consummating 
the  Holy  Unity  of  Mankind. 


THE  TRUE  END  OF  LIFE.          175 


LI. 


THE  TKTJE  END    OF   LIFE. 

WHEREFORE  run  ye  after  shadows?  Why  do  you 
forget  your  true  end? 

Deceitful  glimmerings,  alluring  voices  invite  you 
to  places,  barren  and  desolate,  where  hope  herself 
dies  away  in  never  ending  night. 

The  wants  of  the  flesh,  who  will  deny?  must  be 
satisfied;  it  is  the  condition  of  existence.  But  the 
wants,  is  that  all?  The  appetites,  is  that  all? 

Are  you  then  body  only,  that  you  seek  in  the 
body  the  good,  immense,  without  bounds,  to  which 
you  aspire? 

To-morrow,  what  will  that  body  be?  A  handful 
of  ashes.  Each  day  it  advances  toward  the  grave. 
Is  that  the  pathway  of  your  desires? 

The  brute  even  buries  not  itself  wholly  in  its 
senses  and  in  the  enjoyments  of  sense.  It  has 
instincts  more  elevated,  joys  more  intense.  With- 
out knowing,  it  shows  you  from  afar  the  goal  to- 
ward which  you  should  tend. 

Do  you  wish  to  sink  below  the  brute?  and  if  you 
so  wish,  of  what  do  you  complain?  Does  one 


176 

stoop  so  low  without  distress?  Can  one  struggle 
against  his  nature,  slaughter  it  without  suffering? 

That  dark  spectre,  shapeless  and  without  speech, 
which  stifles  you  in  its  embrace,  know  ye  its  name? 
Its  name  is  Matter. 

Tell  them  this,  for  I  pity  that  poor  people: 

The  body  is  not  man,  but  the  covering  of  man. 

Life  is  not  eating  and  drinking,  but  intellectual 
and  loving. 

The  lowest  beings  of  the  Creation  eat  and  drink, 
and  that  suffices  them;  man  thinks,  loves,  devotes, 
gives  himself  up,  that  I  may  give  Myself  to  him, 
and  that  he  may  find  in  Me,  in  the  True,  in  the 
Good,  in  the  Beautiful,  the  aliment  for  his  soul, 
that  through  which  he  really  lives. 

"What  remains?  Yery  little.  Seek  first  My  jus- 
tice, and  you  shall  receive  the  little  in  addition. 

Woe  unto  him  who  wanders  in  the  bottom  of  the 
valley,  on  the  borders  of  the  standing  waters!  The 
corn,  destined  to  appease  your  hunger,  grows  not  in 
the  mire:  I  have  sown  on  the  high  places  the 
grain  which  shall  nourish  you. 


WE  WALK  IN   DAKKNESS.  177 

III. 

WE  WALK  IN  DARKNESS. 

THAT  which  thine  eyes  behold,  that  which  thine 
hands  touch,  are  mere  shadows,  and  the  sound, 
which  strikes  thine  ear,  is  but  a  rough  echo  of  the 
voice  internal  and  mysterious,  which  worships,  and 
prays,  and  groans  in  the  womb  of  creation. 

For  every  creature  is  groaning,  every  creature  is 
in  the  travail  of  childbed,  and  struggling  for  birth 
into  true  life,  for  passage  from  darkness  to  light, 
from  the  region  of  shadows  to  that  of  realities. 

That  sun,  so  brilliant,  so  beautiful,  is  but  the 
garment,  the  uncertain  emblem  of  the  true  sun, 
which  illumines  and  warms  the  soul. 

That  earth,  so  rich,  so  green,  is  but  the  winding- 
sheet  of  nature:  for  nature,  fallen  into  decay  also, 
has  gone  down  to  the  tomb  like  man,  but  like  him 
she  will  come  forth. 

In  this  heavy  wrapping  of  'flesh,  you  resemble  a 
traveler,  who  at  night  in  his  tent  sees,  or  thinks  he 
sees  phantoms  pass. 

The  real  world  is  veiled  from  you.  He  who 
retires  wholly  within  himself,  catches  a  glimpse  of 
12 


178 

it  as  from  afar.  Secret  powers,  which  slumber  in 
him,  awake  for  a  moment,  lift  a  corner  of  the  veil 
which  time  holds  in  his  shriveled  hand,  and  the  eye 
turned  inward  is  ravished  by  the  wonders  it  beholds. 

You  are  sitting  on  the  shore  of  the  ocean  of 
being,  but  you  cannot  penetrate  its  depths.  You 
walk  in  the  evening  beside  the  sea,  and  you  see  but 
a  little  foam,  cast  upon  the  strand  by  the  surge. 

With  what  shall  I  compare  you  further? 

You  are  like  the  child  in  the  womb  of  its  mother, 
awaiting  the  hour  of  birth;  like  the  winged  insect 
in  the  worm  that  creeps,  eager  for  the  moment  to 
come  out  from  this  earthly  prison  to  take  wing  for 
Heaven. 

LIII. 

THE    CHUKCH-YAKD. 

AT  the  hour  when  the  East  commences  to  grow 
dusky,  when  all  sounds  die  away,  he  trod  slowly, 
beside  the  ripening  fields,  the  solitary  path. 

The  bee  had  returned  to  its  hive,  the  bird  to  its 
nightly  perch;  the  leaves  slumbered  motionless 
upon  their  stems;  a  sad,  sweet  silence  enwrapped 
the  drowsy  earth. 


THE    CHUECH-YARD.  179 

A  single  voice,  the  distant  voice  of  the  village 
church- bell,  vibrated  through  the  calm  air. 

It  said:     Kemember  the  dead. 

And,  as  if  fascinated  by  his  dreams,  it  seemed  to 
him  that  the  voice  of  the  dead,  weak  and  uncertain, 
mingled  with  that  voice  in  the  air. 

Do  you  return  to  visit  the  places  where  your 
rapid  journey  was  completed,  to  seek  there  soiivenirs 
of  griefs  and  joys  which  so  quickly  passed? 

Like  the  smoke,  which  rises  from  our  thatched 
roof  and  suddenly  disappears,  so  you  have  vanished. 

Your  tombstones  are  becoming  moss-grown  be- 
neath the  yew-tree  in  yonder  grave-yard.  "When 
the  dewy  zephyrs  whisper  in  the  high  grass,  one 
might  call  it  the  sighing  of  spirits.  Spouses  of 
death,  is  it  you  who  tremble  upon  your  mysterious 
bed? 

Now,  you  are  at  peace:  no  more  cares,  no  more 
tears;  now  for  you  shine  stars  more  brilliant;  a 
sun  more  radiant  floods  with  his  splendors  plains, 
ethereal  seas  and  boundless  horizons. 

Oh,  tell  me  of  the  mysteries  of  that  world  which 
my  longings  foreshadow,  into  the  midst  of  which 
my  soul,  wearied  by  the  shadows  of  earth,  yearns 
to  lose  itself.  Tell  me  of  Him  who  made  it  and 


ISO 

occupies  it,  and  alone  is  able  to  fill  the  vast  empti-. 
ness  which  He  has  left  in  rue. 

Brothers,  after  waiting,  consoled  by  faith,  your 
hour  is  come.  Mine  also  will  come,  and  others, 
in  their  turn,  their  day  of  labor  finished,  re-enter- 
ing their  wretched  huts,  will  give  ear  to  the  voice 
that  says:  Remember  the  dead. 

LIT. 

THE  EXILE. 

HE  went  about,  wandering  over  the  earth.  Ee 
Thou,  oh  God,  the  guide  of  the  poor  exile! 

I  have  passed  among  the  different  nations,  and 
they  have  looked  at  me,  and  I  have  looked  at  them, 
and  we  have  not  recognized  one  another.  The  exile 
is  everywhere  alone. 

"When,  at  the  decline  of  day,  I  saw  the  smoke 
arise  from  a  hut  in  the  depth  of  the  valley,  I  said 
to  myself:  Happy  the  man  who,  at  night,  returns 
to  the  domestic  fireside,  and  sits  down  there  in  the 
midst  of  his  family.  The  exile  is  everywhere  alone. 

Whither  go  those  clouds,  which  the  storm  drives 
onward?  It  drives  me  onward  like  them,  and  what 
do  I  care  whither?  The  exile  is  everywhere  alone. 


THE   EXILE.  181 

These  trees  are  beautiful,  these  flowers  are  beau- 
tiful; but  they  are  not  the  flowers  and  trees  of  my 
country:  they  say  nothing  to  me.  The  exile  is 
everywhere  alone. 

This  brooklet  runs  smoothly  through  the  plain; 
but  its  purling  is  not  that,  to  which  the  ear  of  my 
childhood  listened :  it  calls  back  to  my  soul  not  one 
reminiscence.  The  exile  is  everywhere  alone. 

Those  songs  are  sweet;  but  the  melancholy  and 
the  gladness  which  they  awake,  are  neither  my 
melancholy,  nor  my  gladness.  The  exile  is  every- 
where alone. 

They  have  asked  me:  Why  do  you  weep?  and 
when  I  told  them  the  reason,  none  has  wept  with 
me,  because  none  understood  me.  The  exile  is 
everywhere  alone. 

I  have  seen  aged  men,  surrounded  with  children, 
like  the  olive-tree  with  its  shoots ;  but  not  one  of  those 
aged  men  called  me  son,  not  one  of  those  children 
called  me  brother.  The  exile  is  everywhere  alone. 

I  have  seen  young  maidens  smile  with  a  smile, 
as  pure  as  the  breeze  of  morning,  on  him,  whom 
their  love  had  chosen  for  a  spouse;  but  not  one  has 
smiled  on  me.  The  exile  is  everywhere  alone. 

I  have  seen  young  men  embrace  breast  to  breast, 


182 

as  if  of  two  lives  they  would  make  but  one;  but  not 
one  has  shaken  hands  with  me.  The  exile  is  every- 
where alone. 

There  are  no  friends,  no  wives,  no  fathers,  no 
brothers,  but  in  one's  native  country.  The  exile  is 
everywhere  alone. 

Poor  exile!  cease  thy  lamentations;  all  are  ban- 
ished like  thyself:  all  see  pass  away  and  vanish  fa- 
thers, brothers,  wives  and  friends. 

Our  fatherland  is  not  here  below;  man  seeks  it 
here  in  vain;  what  he  calls  so,  is  only  a  resting- 
place  for  the  night. 

He  goes  about,  wandering  over  the  earth.  Be 
Thou,  oh  God,  the  guide  of  the  poor  exile! 

LY. 

THE   TKINTTY. 

AND  the  fatherland  was  shown  unto  me. 

I  was  borne  away  beyond  the  region  of  shadows, 
and  I  saw  time  carry  them  off  with  indescribable 
swiftness  through  the  void,  as  one  sees  the  breeze 
from  the  South  carry  away  the  light  vapors  which 
creep  in  the  distance  over  the  plain. 

And  I  ascended,  higher  and  still  more  high;  and 


THE   TRINITY.        .  183 

realities,  invisible  to  the  eye  of  flesh,  became  visible 
to  me,  and  in  that  world  of  phantoms  I  heard 
sounds  which  have  no  echo. 

And  what  I  heard,  what  I  beheld,  was  so  real, 
my  soul  laid  hold  of  it  with  such  vigor,  that  it 
seemed  to  me  as  if  all,  I  formerly  thought  I  had 
seen  and  heard,  was  but  a  vague  dream  of  the  night. 

What  shall  I  declare  then  unto  the  children  of 
night,  and  what  are  they  able  to  understand  ?  And 
from  the  heights  of  eternal  day,  am  I  not  also 
fallen  back  with  them  into  the  bosom  of  night, 
into  the  region  of  time  and  of  shadows? 

I  saw,  as  it  were,  an  ocean,  moveless,  vast,  infin- 
ite; and  within  that  ocean,  three  oceans:  an  ocean 
of  strength,  an  ocean  of  light,  an  ocean  of  life; 
and  these  three  oceans,  penetrating  one  another 
without  mingling,  formed  but  a  single  ocean,  but 
one  unity,  indivisible,  absolute,  eternal. 

And  that  unity  was  He  that  is;  and  in  the 
midst  of  His  being,  a  wondrous  knot  bound  together 
three  Persons,  who  were  named  to  me,  and  their 
names  ;were  the  Father,  the  Son,  the  Spirit;  and 
there  was  a  generating  mysterious,  a  breathing 
mysterious,  vigorous,  fruitful;  and  the  Father,  the 
Son,  the  Spirit,  were  He  that  is. 


184: 

And  the  Father  appeared  to  me  as  a  Power  which, 
within  the  Being  Infinite,  one  with  it,  has  but  a 
single  function,  lasting,  perfect,  without  limit,  which 
is  the  Infinite  Being  Himself. 

And  the  Son  appeared  to  me  as  a  "Word,  lasting, 
perfect,  without  limit,  which  proclaims  the  works 
of  the  power  of  the  Father,  that  which  He  is,  that 
which  is  the  Being  Infinite. 

And  the  Spirit  appeared  to  me  as  the  Love,  the 
effusion,  the  mutual  aspiration  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Son,  animating  them  with  a  common  life, 
animating  with  a  life  lasting,  perfect,  without  limit, 
the  Infinite  Being. 

And  these  three  were  One,  and  these  three  were 
God,  and  they  embraced  one  another  and  were 
united  in  the  impenetrable  sanctuary  of  the  one 
substance;  and  that  union,  that  embrace,  were,  in 
the  bosom  of  immensity,  the  eternal  joy,  the  eter- 
nal felicity  of  Him  that  is. 

And  in  the  midst  of  that  infinite  ocean  of  being, 
creation  swum  and  floated  and  expanded  itself;  like 
an  island  that  should  constantly  expand  its  coasts 
in  a  sea  without  shore. 

It  expanded  like  a  flower  which  takes  root  in  the 
water,  and  extends  its  long  stems  and  its  petals  on 
the  surface. 


THE  TRINITY.  185 

And  I  beheld  the  beings  link  themselves  to  other 
beings,  and  reproduce  and  develop  themselves  in 
their  numberless  variety,  drinking  in  plentifully, 
nourishing  themselves  with  a  sap  which  never  dries 
up,  with  the  strength,  with  the  light  and  with  the 
life  of  Him  that  is. 

And  all  that  had  been  hidden  from  me  until  then, 
was  unveiled  to  rny  gaze,  which  was  no  longer 
obstructed  by  the  material  envelope  of  existence. 

Liberated  from  earthly  clogs,  I  went  from  world 
to  world,  as  here  below  the  mind  flies  from  thought 
to  thought;  and  after  having  been  plunged,  lost  in 
those  wonders  of  the  Power,  of  the  Wisdom  and  of 
the  love,  I  plunged,  I  lost  myself  in  the  very  foun- 
tain of  Love,  of  "Wisdom  and  of  Power. 

And  I  understood  what  is  the  fatherland;  and  I 
was  intoxicated  with  light,  and  my  soul,  enraptured 
with  strains  of  harmony,  sank  to  sleep  on  the  celes- 
tial waves,  in  an  indescribable  ecstasy. 

And  then  I  beheld  Christ  on  the  right  hand  of 
His  father,  radiant  with  a  glory  immortal. 

And  I  beheld  Him  also  like  a  mystic  lamb,  sacri- 
ficed upon  an  altar;  myriads  of  angels  and  the  men, 
redeemed  by  His  blood,  surrounded  Him,  and  sing- 
ing His  praises,  they  rendered  thanks  unto  Him  in 
the  language  of  heaven. 


186 

And  a  drop  of  blood  from  the  Lamb  fell  upon 
nature  faint  and  sick,  and  I  saw  her  transfigured; 
and  all  the  creatures  which  she  supports,  throbbed 
with  new  life,  and  all  raised  their  voice,  and  that 
voice  said: 

Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  is  He  who  hath  destroyed 
evil  and  conquered  death. 

And  the  Son  rested  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
and  the  Spirit  overspread  them  with  His  shadow, 
and  there  was  among  them  a  mystery  divine,  and 
the  heavens  in  silence  trembled. 


THE   DEAD. 

They  also  have  passed  over  this  earth;  they  have 
descended  the  river  of  time ;  their  voice  was  heard 
on  its  banks,  and  then  was  heard  no  more.  Where 
are  they?  "Who  can  tell  us?  Happy  the  dead  who 
die  in  the  Lord! 

Whilst   they  were  passing,   a  thousand    vain 
shadows  presented  themselves  to  their  eyes;  the 


THE   DEAD.  187 

world  which  Christ  has  accursed,  displayed  to  them 
its  grandeurs,  its  riches,  its  pleasures;  they  beheld 
it,  and  suddenly  they  beheld  nothing  but  eternity. 
Where  are  they?  Who  can  tell  us?  Happy  the 
dead  who  die  in  the  Lord! 


Like  a  ray  from  on  high,  a  cross,  in  the  distance, 
appeared  to  guide  their  course :  but  all  did  not  look 
upon  it.  Where  are  they?  Who  can  tell  us? 
Happy  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord! 

Some  among  them  said:  What  mean  these  waves 
which  bear  us  away?  Is  there  anything  after  this 
rapid  voyage?  We  know  not,  no  one  knows.  And 
as  they  said  this,  the  banks  vanished.  Where  are 
they?  Who  can  tell  us?  Happy  the  dead  who  die 
in  the  Lord! 

Some  also,  in  deep  meditation,  seemed  to  listen 
to  mysterious  words;  and  then,  with  eye  fixed  .on 
the  west,  they  suddenly  sang  to  an  invisible  aurora 
and  a  day  which  never  ends.  Where  are  they? 
Who  can  tell  us?  Happy  the  dead  who  die  in  the 
Lord!  * 


188 

Carried  away  without  distinction,  young  and  old, 
all  disappeared  as  the  ship,  which  the  tempest  drives 
onward.  It  would  be  easier  to  count  the  sands  of 
the  sea,  than  the  number  of  those  who  hastened  to 
pass.  "Where  are  they?  Who  can  tell  us?  Happy 
the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord! 


Those  who  saw  them,  have  told  that  great  sad- 
ness was  in  their  heart:  agony  heaved  their  chest, 
and  as  if  fatigued  by  the  labor  of  living,  raising 
their  eyes  towards  Heaven,  they  wept.  Where  are 
they?  Who  can  tell  us?  Happy  the  dead  who  die 
in  the  Lord! 

From  the  unknown  places,  where  the  river  loses 
itself,  two  voices  arise  incessantly: 

The  one  says :  From  the  depths  I  have  cried  unto 
Thee,  O  Lord:  Lord  hear  my  voice.  Let  Thy 
ears  be  attentive  to  the  voice  of  my  supplication. 
If  thou  wilt  observe  iniquities,  0  Lord:  Lord, 
who  shall  endure  it?  But  with  the  Lord  there  is 
mercy,  and  with  Him  plentiful  redemption.1 

And  the  other:     We  'praise  Thee,  0  God!     We 


THE   DEAD.  189 

bless  Thee:  holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  God  of 
Hosts.     Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  Thy  glory? 


And  we  also,  we  shall  go  there,  whence  proceed 
those  lamentations  or  those  songs  of  triumph. 
Where  shall  we  be?  "Who  can  tell  us?  Happy 
the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord ! 


(*)    De  profundis. 

(2)    Te  Deum  laudamus. 


till 

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